Awful in first half, magic in second: Joshua Zirkzee leads Man United comeback

LONDON — It looked unlikely at halftime against Crystal Palace that either Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim or striker Joshua Zirkzee would leave Selhurst Park with any credit.

Going a goal down thanks to a retaken Jean-Philippe Mateta penalty (after he accidentally touched the ball twice on the first kick), Amorim was left facing a second significant setback in a week following the embarrassing 1-0 home defeat to 10-man Everton on Monday. Zirkzee, meanwhile, failed to muster a meaningful touch during an anonymous first 45 minutes, let alone a shot to trouble Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

It’s to their credit, then, that both made the journey back to Manchester from south London on Sunday with their reputations not only intact, but enhanced.

It was Amorim’s tactical switch at the break — moving Bryan Mbeumo higher and more central — which allowed United to get a foothold in a game which had been dominated by Palace up until that point. United’s players were also more “intense,” according to Amorim afterward.

It allowed Zirkzee to grab an equalizer — his first Premier League goal for 364 days — with a clinical finish from an acute angle before Mason Mount made it 2-1 shortly after.

There were last rites being written for Amorim and Zirkzee at halftime. But after the final whistle both stood in front of the 3,000 jubilant travelling fans taking in a valuable victory.

“I just said to the players we need to be more alive and you can feel that,” Amorim said afterward. “So if you are more alive, you are in more places, you are near the ball more often. I think everyone did that.

“But we also need to understand that the opponent was tired also in the second half. And when you increase the rhythm and the opponent gets tired a little bit, suffers right away a goal, you felt that we had the control of the game and that’s it.”

If nothing else, United’s first win at Selhurst Park since 2020 will dampen the noise around Amorim’s suitability for the job which spiked again in the wake of the Everton defeat.

Zirkzee’s future is also the subject of much debate. The Netherlands international’s lack of game time this season has prompted speculation he could look to leave Old Trafford in January in an attempt to earn a place in the national squad ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

He made his first league start of the season against Everton and probably would have lost his place against Palace had Matheus Cunha been fit. And there was an argument that he should have been replaced at halftime having offered nothing against Palace’s back three of Marc Guéhi, Chris Richards and Maxence Lacroix — he was maybe only still on the pitch because of a lack of options on the bench caused by injuries to Cunha and Benjamin Sesko.

Either way, Zirkzee made the most of his reprieve and early in the second half took down Bruno Fernandes’ clever free kick and smashed his finish across Henderson and inside the far post from the narrowest of angles. It was a well-timed intervention, both for Amorim and himself.

It was also Zirkzee’s first league goal since December 2024 and United’s first league goal against Palace since February 2023. The former Bayern Munich and Bologna forward looked like a different player after the break.

“It was not just the goal, even the runs behind,” Amorim said of Zirkzee’s second-half performance. “In the first half he struggled on the duels, and he won some duels in the second half. We improved a lot because of the quality of Josh in the second half. That is important for him to understand. That is not just the goal. We play better because Josh played better in the second half.”

Amorim was heavily criticized for his in-game management against Everton, but he played his part against Palace. He shifted Mbeumo into a more central position, closer to Zirkzee, and a disconnected United team suddenly looked more joined up. Both goals came from set pieces, but United were the better team after the break.

“We had that feeling that we needed to do something to change the way we were playing,” Amorim said. “And it was that, of course. We tried to change little things in the game. But the intensity and the quality in the way we connect, especially Josh in our connection, was better and that improves a lot the way we play.”

Oliver Glasner, too, referenced fatigue as a reason for the turnaround in the second half. For Palace, it was another game without a win following a Thursday night UEFA Conference League tie; while United had five days to prepare, Glaser had just 48 hours following the 2-1 defeat to Strasbourg.

Afterward, he could not hide his frustration at conceding twice from set pieces, but also a lack of squad depth which he feels should have been addressed in the summer.

During a strong postmatch news conference, Glaser accused the club’s board of playing it “safe.”

“Conceding two goals from set plays makes it really frustrating,” he said. “We played a very good first half and deserved to have the lead. I can’t remember a big chance from open play all game. The energy levels dropped but we made it harder for ourselves by conceding these two goals.

“They looked a little bit fatigued. It was our 22nd game of the season and Man United’s 14th game. It’s what we are facing. It’s no blame for the players because they are leaving their hearts on the pitch.”

Both Glasner and Amorim are likely to push for more additions in the January transfer window knowing that a midseason boost could make all the difference to a congested table.

Amorim is fond of saying how quickly things can flip in the Premier League and for a change it was the opposition manager rather than the Portuguese coach who looked more exasperated during his postmatch media duties.

It looked set to be the other way round at halftime and the two halves could hardly have been more different. Victory over Palace — only United’s second league win away from home since March — buys both Amorim and Zirkzee more time.