Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United came from two goals down to produce a sensational second-half fightback and beat Crystal Palace 3-2 on Monday night.
Here, using Opta‘s heat and touch maps, we look at home United’s final 15 minutes compared to the rest of the match as the visitors scored twice late on to seal a crucial victory.
Amazingly, it was the first time a side under Mourinho had managed to overturn a 2-0 deficit and win in the Premier League, while the last time the Red Devils achieved such a feat was back in December 2013 against Hull.
Indeed, the manager of the turnaround evoked memories from the late goals we became accustomed to from Sir Alex Ferguson’s side down through the years.
The Old Trafford club’s triumph seemed pretty unlikely after a dour first-half display which saw the relegation-threatened hosts go 1-0 up, and then double their advantage soon after the break.
United’s first-half heatmap showed that they barely mustered a fruitful attack and had to deal with Palace’s forays into their own penalty box frequently.
But that changed in the second 45 as United scored thrice, with the overall heatmap suggesting a much more fluid display from the Manchester giants.
Romelu Lukaku levelled the match at 2-2 on 76 minutes and Nemanja Matic scored his stoppage-time winner, with the graphic below showing United’s territorial pressure in the final 15 minutes or so of the match.
Mourinho’s men upped their possession to almost 70 per cent and weren’t content to leave Selhurst Park with just one point in the bag.
Here’s how United’s players looked as they went for the kill – from 76 minutes to the 95 minutes played in total.
While Matic’s midfield partner Paul Pogba was largely derided for an ineffective display, Matic proved his all-action qualities. His winning goal obviously stole the headlines, but the Serbian was an effective enforcer throughout, helping United to get a grip in a game that was slipping away from them. He mustered three shots on goal, three dribbles and won as many aerial duels in the middle of the park. His improvement was significant in United’s win.
Matic’s first-half touch map
The 29-year-old second-half showing…
