Jean-Philippe Mateta was the hero for Crystal Palace as his brace earned a 2-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
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The Frenchman, who had missed a glorious opportunity to open the scoring in the first half, made no mistake with his first chance in the second as he was on hand to bundle in a rebound from close range in the 64th minute.
Mateta then made sure of the points with one minute remaining, neatly slotting Daniel Munoz’s low cross past Andre Onana to finish off a blistering counter-attack.
Kobbie Mainoo had struck a post early in the match for United, though the hosts looked unlikely to trouble Palace, who defended staunchly throughout.
Palace leapfrog United in the table, moving up to 12th on 30 points, while Ruben Amorim’s side now sit one point and one place below them.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 |
Brighton
BHA
|
24 | -3 | 34 |
| 11 |
Brentford
BRE
|
24 | 0 | 31 |
| 12 |
Crystal Palace
CRY
|
24 | -2 | 30 |
| 13 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
24 | -6 | 29 |
| 14 |
Spurs
TOT
|
24 | +11 | 27 |
| 15 |
West Ham
WHU
|
23 | -16 | 27 |
How the match unfolded
United made a bright start, with Mainoo seeing a deflected bouncing drive tipped onto a post by goalkeeper Dean Henderson seven minutes in.
Palace soon grew into the match though as Munoz thumped a header wide, while neither Ismaila Sarr nor Mateta could get a touch on Tyrick Mitchell’s cross.
Mateta looked to have found the breakthrough shortly before half-time, bursting through 1v1, but Onana tipped his dinked effort wide of the far post.
Henderson was again called into action early in the second half, pushing Bruno Fernandes’s strike wide before getting down to hold onto Manuel Ugarte’s low half-volley minutes later.
Palace substitute Eberechi Eze then had an almost instant impact as his free-kick was headed against the crossbar by Maxence Lacroix, with Mateta on hand to bundle in the rebound.
United pushed bodies forward late on in search of an equaliser and were punished on the break, with Munoz putting it on a plate for Mateta to help it past Onana.
United stumble again
It was a familiar story for Man Utd in many ways as not for the first time under Amorim, they struggled to find their finishing touch despite carving out some good opportunities.
Amorim chose not to start with a recognised striker, with Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkee both starting on the bench, but United began brightly. Mainoo, playing as a "false nine", linked up with Alejandro Garnacho to create two big openings early on.
However, for all their good play - Lisandro Martinez also saw a volley smothered by Palace’s stubborn defence - the Red Devils have now failed to score in the first half of a Premier League match for the 18th time this season.
United did step up their pressure after the break, with Fernandes finding more influence from his deeper midfield role, but they looked out of ideas on how to cut open their opponents, and their desperation for an equaliser ultimately cost them.
Amorim is still yet to win back-to-back Premier League matches since his appointment and has only two wins from seven in the competition at Old Trafford in that time, leaving him to go back to the drawing board before their trip to Tottenham Hotspur in two weeks time.
Eagles soar at Old Trafford
Oliver Glasner’s side would have fancied their chances of bouncing back from their defeat to Brentford, having won three of their last five visits to Old Trafford.
They quickly shook themselves off after a slow start and arguably should have been in the lead at half-time having nullified the United threat.
Palace remained happy to soak up the pressure in the second half, buoyed by their resolute first-half defensive showing.
They bided their time until Eze, who was a doubt for this match due to injury, was able to come on shortly after the hour.
Palace stepped up their attacking threat after his introduction. He was unfortunate not to get an assist after Lacroix hit the bar, and ran the United defence ragged, showcasing how shaky the hosts were at the back.
They did not panic despite Man Utd's late attempts to push them back, and thanks to Mateta’s goals, they are now unbeaten in six Premier League fixtures on the road, though it is back to Selhurst Park next to face a resurgent Everton.
What the managers said
Ruben Amorim: ""The result is really bad. The performance was a little bit better than the last games. We controlled the transitions quite well for Crystal Palace. We suffered two goals that we can avoid and the injury on Lisandro Martinez was tough for the team.
"It's normal for the fans to feel negative, it is a hard season for them but football can change in certain moments. I will prepare the next game and move forward. Better things will come"
Oliver Glasner: "He [Mateta] makes so many runs where he doesn't get the ball. We demand and encourage him. Everything he is doing, he is doing it and of course we are delighted with his form.
"The second goal is everything we are always talking about and I am delighted that it started with Adam Wharton playing a great one-touch pass. Really great to watch, big win and we stay humble and keep going."
Club reports
Man Utd report | Crystal Palace report
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Man Utd have failed to score in the first half of 18 different Premier League matches this season, the most of any team in the competition
No player has scored more Premier League goals in 2025 than Mateta’s six – level with Chris Wood and Phil Foden. Thanks to his brace today, the Frenchman has netted 26 goals since the start of last season.
Christian Eriksen came off the bench to make his 300th appearance in the Premier League today (226 for Spurs, 63 for Man Utd and 11 for Brentford), becoming the third Danish player to reach this milestone after Thomas Sorensen (364) and Peter Schmeichel (310).
Man Utd have now lost seven of their first 13 league home matches this season, their joint-most at this stage of a league campaign, along with 1893/94 (also seven home defeats in 13).
