Nemanja Matic capped Manchester United's stirring fightback from two goals down as the Serbia midfielder's stunning strike snatched a dramatic 3-2 win at Crystal Palace on Monday. Jose Mourinho's side trailed to Andros Townsend's early opener and Patrick van Aanholt's second half effort at Selhurst Park.
But Chris Smalling got one back for United and Romelu Lukaku equalised with 14 minutes remaining. That set the stage for Matic to score for the first time since his move from Chelsea last year with a blistering blast from the edge of the area in stoppage-time. It was an escape act that seemed unlikely when United fell 2-0 behind after being out-fought and out-played by a Palace team fighting gamely to avoid relegation.
But Mourinho will take heart from the way his players shrugged off their limp opening to move back above Liverpool into second place in the Premier League and within 16 points of runaway leaders Manchester City. Third bottom Palace deserved better, but they remain one point from safety after a heartbreaking loss.
While injury-hit Palace had struggled badly in recent weeks, they have often proved a thorn in the side of bigger clubs at Selhurst Park. They were given early encouragement by Mourinho's men, who were playing as though it was nothing more than a Sunday morning kick-about in the park.
United paid the price for their lethargic start in the 11th minute. Christian Benteke was allowed to jink into the United penalty area unchecked by Smalling and when his pass picked out Townsend 18 yards from goal, the Palace winger unleashed a shot that took a wicked deflection off Lindelof as it looped past David De Gea.
United were nearly undone by more sloppy play when Matic conceded possession in midfield, but Palace striker Alexander Sorloth shot straight at De Gea.
Comments
Comments are closed.