CRYSTAL PALACE 1, MANCHESTER UNITED 2
- Paul Pogba opens the scoring after being put through by Zlatan Ibrahimovic
- Marcos Rojo lucky to stay on the pitch after a two-footed lunge at Wilfried Zaha
- Crystal Palace level the scores after Damien Delaney backheel puts James McArthur clean through
- Juan Mata goal disallowed for marginal offside call
- Pogba returns the favour and puts Ibrahimovic through to score winner with 2 minutes to go
Arriving just 45 minutes before kick off due to heavy traffic in South London was hardly the best preparation for a game for football but a little bit of late goal drama went for Manchester United for a change after Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the winner in the 88th minute.
It broke the deadlock after home side Crystal Palace cancelled out Paul Pogba’s first half opener with a James McArthur equaliser.
Reds boss Jose Mourinho opted for four changes from the game against Spurs with Eric Bailly, Daley Blind, Juan Wayne Rooney replacing Antonio Valencia, Matteo Darmian, Anthony Martial and the injured Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
United found themselves in a battle with a determined Crystal Palace side who offered little going forward but were almost successful in preventing the Reds from having a shot on target in the first half.
Paul Pogba finally gave the travelling fans something to cheer about after he finally forced Wayne Hennessey to make a save shortly before half time.
But the French international wasn’t to be denied and, in first half injury time, and despite suspicion of handball and offside, Ibrahimovic chested down Juan Mata’s free kick to allow the Frenchman to stab the ball home from three yards out seconds before the end of the first half.
It could have been an entirely different story for United had Palace made it to half time having completely denied the Reds a shot on target and if Marcos Rojo had been censured properly with a red card for a reckless two-footed lunge on Wilfried Zaha.
The home side rallied after the break after the introduction of Joe Ledley and began to put the Reds under some pressure.
Eric Bailly, who had already sustained a heavy injury in the first half, departed injured soon after the start of the second half, and United’s rhythm was disrupted by a James McArthur equaliser after 66 minutes after he latched onto a clever Damien Delaney backheel which evaded Phil Jones and beat De Gea.
De Gea had minutes earlier produced a fine save to keep out the Scotland midfielder but he was beaten by the slick movement that found Palace unexpectedly level.
United had a Mata goal disallowed for a marginal offside but Ibrahimovic had the final word.
The Swede had his first half assist for Pogba returned with interest by the midfielder, after Yohan Cabaye had lost possession, and threaded the ball past Hennessey from an acute angle to win three hard earned points for Jose Mourinho’s side.