In a 2-1 comeback victory over 10-man Crystal Palace on Sunday, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty and then set up a free kick that Benjamin Sesko headed home, moving the home team into third place in the Premier League rankings.
Michael Carrick, the interim manager, has led his team to seven straight victories since taking over in mid-January, and they now have 51 points from 28 games. Stuck on 35, Palace fell to 14th place.
After winning six of their previous seven games under Carrick, United climbed up to third place for the first time since May 2023 and are still undefeated since Ruben Amorim was fired on January 5.
Fernandes told Sky Sports, “It feels like a big result, we were behind and had to show some character.” “We still have a lot more games to play in order to finish in the top four, so it’s critical that we don’t feel like we’re in the right position. We must raise as many points as possible.
Man United climb to third in the Premier league table
After four minutes, Maxence Lacroix pushed past Leny Yoro to strike home a header from a corner as Palace defeated the home team, who had been caught asleep. It was United’s first goal of the season.
Goalkeeper Senne Lammens stopped Daniel Munoz’s attempt to give the visitors a 2-0 lead as he sprinted onto a through pass from Ismaila Sarr. After the break, United got better, and in the 57th minute, after Matheus Cunha had been taken down by Lacroix, Fernandes pulled them level from the spot, throwing Henderson the wrong way. After a protracted VAR assessment, the defender was handed a red card.
Carrick’s squad had many opportunities to increase their advantage, including a volley from Casemiro that required Henderson to make a diving stop. Kobbie Mainoo sent a rocket that went just wide of the goal, Joshua Zirkzee, another replacement, had a couple of opportunities blocked, and Amad Diallo forced another diving save with a long-range effort in stoppage time.
The most important lesson for us to learn from the game, according to Carrick, is that we were in that predicament for the first time heading into halftime.
