Crystal Palace enjoy dream day as Jean-Philippe Mateta puts Manchester United's struggles into perspective

Still successful the relegation portion backmost successful precocious October, Palace person present clambered supra Manchester United and into 12th place.

They did truthful courtesy of Sunday’s thoroughly deserved 2-0 triumph astatine Old Trafford, which has go a blessed hunting crushed for the Eagles of precocious — 4 Palace wins successful their past six visits to the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ a hard world for United to person to accept.

Mateta present has six goals successful his past 5 outings for the Eagles, and his day enactment into brutal position United’s ain struggles up front. Ruben Amorim felt truthful unconvinced by Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee that helium started without either, and without a striker astatine all. Neither antheral did thing erstwhile they came on.

Mateta did plenty. After 64 minutes, helium prodded Palace into the pb from nether the crossbar aft Maxence Lacroix’s header came backmost disconnected the woodwork.

Then, with a infinitesimal of mean clip remaining, the electrical Ismaila Sarr measured an inch-perfect shot done United’s static and erratic backline. Daniel Munoz and Mateta bore down connected Andre Onana’s goal. The Colombian squared, Mateta rammed home. Job done, with United heading “down with Southampton”, oregon truthful the Palace faithful chanted.

Palace arrived successful Manchester connected the backmost of 4 wins from their past 5 league games distant from home. Make that 5 from six. No astonishment Glasner’s men were truthful afloat of confidence, then, up of facing Amorim’s spluttering side, adjacent if the Eagles had mislaid to Brentford past play successful a location lucifer that had halted their ain beardown form. Ruthlessly backmost to winning ways now.

Alejandro Garnacho came adjacent and Kobbie Mainoo struck the ft of the station successful the opening six minutes, but astir from that infinitesimal on, it was Eagles who had the ascendency, who looked amended drilled, and whose passing sequences were crisper.

Steve Parish and Mark Bright were watching connected from the stands and volition beryllium braced for a engaged transportation deadline time astatine Copers Cope Road connected Monday, but those already astatine the nine delivered a show to beryllium arrogant of — apart, successful truth, from Daichi Kamada, who near a frustrated Glasner shaking his caput connected the sidelines with his mediocre archetypal touches and subdued vigor levels.

Eberechi Eze had trained successful afloat - and trained good - connected Saturday, truthful Palace changed tack astatine the past infinitesimal and did bring the wounded uncertainty with them aft all. It was to nary one’s astonishment that, connected the hr mark, the subpar Kamada was withdrawn and Eze brought on.

Eze’s archetypal interaction was the deftly lofted free-kick transportation from which Mateta scored the opener. And determination was adjacent clip for Adam Wharton to participate the fray connected 88 minutes for his archetypal quality successful astir 100 days, drafting a raucous absorption from the travelling fans. It was that benignant of day for the Eagles: 1 successful which astir everything went right.