Cabin BLV: Despite the win, MU still leaves many doubts

MU’s comeback win against Crystal Palace helped them somewhat recover their form after the Everton defeat, yet it remains a victory filled with doubts rather than confidence in Ruben Amorim’s tactical approach.

1. MU’s full three points at Selhurst Park were largely due to the opponent’s circumstances. Crystal Palace had just experienced a difficult away trip in France, losing 1-2 to Strasbourg in the Conference League last Thursday night. This significantly impacted Oliver Glasner’s squad’s fitness and preparation for the MU match. Palace performed well in the first half and scored through Mateta from a penalty, but it was obvious the home team showed signs of fatigue in the second half and suffered psychologically after conceding an unexpected equalizer from Zirkzee’s spectacular strike. Furthermore, goalkeeper Henderson struggled due to glare affecting his ability to manage situations inside the box, leading to Palace’s collapse when Mason Mount scored the goal that completed MU’s comeback.

Conversely, MU’s victory was thanks to players that Crystal Palace did not expect and some defensive complacency, namely Zirkzee and Mount. Zirkzee was almost invisible in the first half but suddenly burst into life as mentioned earlier, while Mount only needed one well-taken free kick to make the difference. MU’s recent win over Crystal Palace was largely defined by individual performances. It did not provide full reassurance of a cohesive system perfected by Amorim. It is true the Portuguese coach made lineup changes, but these stemmed from injury issues to forwards Sesko and Cunha, plus underwhelming displays from players like Mazraoui and Dorgu in the Everton loss. The positive at Old Trafford now is the reliability of Lammens in goal and Zirkzee’s unexpected good form, though questions remain whether the Dutch striker’s inclusion means Amorim has run out of options at center forward and avoids using false number 9s such as Mount or Fernandes. In other words, we still cannot clearly detect Amorim’s distinct stamp on the win over Crystal Palace.