Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United: Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba strike to leave Jose Mourinho's side 13 points off the top of the table
This wasn’t one for the highlight reel. But knowing Jose Mourinho it’s a night he’ll remember.
The Manchester United manager loves a scrap, you see; this war of attrition at Selhurst Park certainly falls into that category.
Even more so, Mourinho loves a tussle he wins. How many times have we seen a Mourinho side labour yet still come away with three points?
Paul Pogba fires a strike past Crystal Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey to give the visitors the lead in the first-half
The Manchester United players celebrate with the £89million midfielder after he gave them the lead on Wednesday night
United defender Marcos Rojo was fortunate not to see red prior to Pogba's opening goal after a two-footed challenge
James McArthur turns in from close range after Damian Delaney's back-heel pass allows him to fire past David de Gea
The midfielder leaps straight into the arms of defender Joel Ward as he shows his joy at managing to level the tie
Zlatan Ibrahimovic fires past Crystal Palace goalkeeper Hennessey to secure a valuable three points for Jose Mourinho's side
Ibrahimovic celebrates after his late strike confirmed a victory for the sixth-placed side in the Premier League
United's goalscorers Ibrahimovic (right) and Pogba (left) celebrate following the final whistle at Selhurst Park
Add another one to that collection, Jose. This wasn’t vintage United. Nowhere near it. But like a true Mourinho outfit, they found a way to win.
They looked on course for a point until Zlatan Ibrahimovic slammed home a late winner to boost his team’s top-four hopes and pile further misery on relegation threatened Crystal Palace.
Both managers were after positive results for altogether different reasons on Wednesday night. Jose Mourinho’s side finally look to be heading in the right direction after a slow start to the season, but improvement without substance simply isn’t enough at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese knows that more than most. Six points off the Champions League positions going into Wednesday night’s clash has left United with little room for further error. And Mourinho recalled Wayne Rooney to starting XI, in place of the injured Henrikh Mkhitaryan, in one of four changes that also saw Eric Bailly, Daley Blind and Juan Mata start.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic wins the ball in the air after finding space between Damien Delaney and Mathieu Flamini
Jose Mourinho speaks to defender Phil Jones as his side dominate the opening exchanges on Wednesday at Selhurst Park
Mourinho speaks to the physio after Manchester United defender Eric Bailly went down injured in the first 10 minutes
Pogba (right) goes down after a challenge from compatriot and fellow midfielder Yohan Cabaye on Wednesday
Alan Pardew has problems of his own, of course. Three points off the drop zone ahead of Wednesday night, Palace are fearing the worst. Indeed, Pardew - despite chairman Steve Parish’s public show of support last week - knows his job remains in the balance.
Fixing the defensive fragility that has plagued their season will be the overriding factor towards Palace pulling away from the bottom three and Pardew keeping his job. And the Eagles boss sprung a selection surprise in a bid to plug the hole in his leaky defence, handing defensive central midfielder Mathieu Flamini his first start for the club since arriving in the summer.
United’s preparations for Wednesday night’s encounter were disrupted by the heavy south London traffic which resulted in the team bus arriving just 55 minutes before kick off. Having arrived late for two London fixtures last season, United should have know better.
And it seemed horrendous traffic, not helped by the local train strikes, had a detrimental impact on their start as they lacked early invention. They suffered a brief injury scare when Bailly, who has only just returned from an eight week injury lay-off, required treatment on his knee after landing awkwardly from an aerial challenge with Chung-Yong Lee.
Michael Carrick required treatment after sustaining an injury courtesy of a tough tackle from a Crystal Palace player
Ibrahimovic and Scott Dann battle for the ball as Flamini watches on during the Premier League match at Selhurst Park
A young Crystal Palace fan shows his support for his team during the evening game at Selhurst Park on Wednesday
Hennessey collects the ball at the feet of Ibrahimovic as United press for a goal during the encounter
Wilfried Zaha has an opportunity to stretch his legs and test the United defence with his pace and dribbling with the ball
Defender Marcos Rojo is shown a yellow card after scything down the former United forward during the first-half
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