Key events
90 min: Schlupp hares down the right and is brought down by a combination of Shaw and Fred, nipping away at him from behind. A free kick in a very dangerous position!
89 min: Rashford takes down a long pass on the edge of the Palace box. But he can’t force his way past Richards. Rashford flings his arms in the air in frustration. United then come again through Wan-Bissaka down the right, but his cross is easy pickings for Guaita. All of the action is happening at the wrong end of the pitch from a Palace viewpoint, as they look for a late equaliser.
87 min: Rashford probes down the left but can’t worm his way into the Palace box. He’s forced to turn tail, but it’s a dribble that’s eaten up quite a few precious seconds. Time is not on Palace’s side.
86 min: Zaha drifts in from the left and looks to plant a spectacular shot into the top right. Earlier in the move, Mitchell beat Fernandes to the ball and was rewarded with a cynical clip on the ankle for his trouble. United have lost their earlier sangfroid.
84 min: Milivojevic comes on for the suddenly ragged Hughes.
82 min: United were preparing to replace Casemiro with Fred, too. Now there’s no need to protect or rest him, so Eriksen makes way instead.
81 min: Eze curls a lame free kick towards the left-hand side of the United goal. Easy for De Gea.
80 min: Zaha races down the inside-left channel and Casemiro brings him down with an absurd scissor action. Studs scrape near the knee. It’s a yellow that will rule Casemiro out of the Arsenal game this weekend. That’s not ideal, but you’ve seen red cards handed out for much less.
78 min: Wan-Bissaka and Fernandes nearly open Palace up down the right, but the home defence holds its shape. A sense that there’s another goal in this … but for who?
76 min: Palace pin United back for a few seconds. Ayew can’t get his head on a cross from the right. McTominay tries to break clear only to be brought down spectacularly by Hughes, who goes into the book. “Don’t be encouraging any Weghorst dancing until he settles in at Old Trafford,” advises Justin Kavanagh. “We don’t want to tip the Roy Keane Grouchometer up to 11 just yet.”
75 min: … Guehi heads towards the top right. De Gea reacts and parries with a strong hand. Another fine save by the United keeper, who has arguably been the difference tonight!
74 min: McTominay grabs Zaha, who was making his way down the inside-left channel. It’s a free kick. McTominay doesn’t let go, and Zaha gives him an unfriendly shove. The referee tells them both to act their age, after which the resulting free kick leads to a corner on the right. From which …
73 min: VAR checks, and it’s not a penalty. There’s certainly nothing clear and obvious there. In fact it looks like Richards got a feathery touch on the ball, nudging it away from McTominay. We play on.
72 min: McTominay romps after a Fernandes pass down the inside-right channel. He goes down in the area with Richards challenging. Fernandes is furious, demanding a penalty. It’s not given. But VAR will check.
71 min: Schlupp and Ayew come on for Edouard and Doucoure.
69 min: Weghorst’s debut is over. He makes way for McTominay, while Antony is replaced by Garnacho. “Until we’ve seen Weghorst dance I’m afraid he’s not allowed near the Crouchometer,” rules Richard Hirst. Did you see Dan Burn’s efforts the other day after his goal for Newcastle against Leicester? Two-point-five on the Crouchometer at best, and that’s being generous.
67 min: Edouard chases after a long ball. He runs into Varane in the United box, and falls over, demanding a penalty kick. He’s not getting one. As for Ellen … “Typical, Scott, expecting a woman to solve every problem,” begins Liz White. “Where were the stewards? Surely one of them should have dealt with it; Ellen’s probably past her galoot-tackling days.”
66 min: Palace can’t keep hold of the ball. United are bossing it in an unfussy fashion.
64 min: Rashford speculates from the best part of 30 yards. Full marks for effort, if nothing else.
62 min: United are in calm control here. “Weghorst reminds me of Peter Crouch. Tall, gangly, gets nine on the clumsy-meter.” It’s Jeff Sachs, who is fast becoming nearly as prolific an inventor as Edison.
60 min: Zaha advances down the right and wallops a low cross into the United box that nearly bagatelles its way to Edouard. United half clear, but Eze is afforded the opportunity of a shot from distance. He welts it hysterically off target.
59 min: This half has kind of pootled along so far. That will suit Manchester United fine. With a big game at Arsenal coming up, they’re not having to put the pedal to the floor at all.
57 min: A galoot runs onto the pitch, puts his arm around Casemiro, and takes a selfie! Casemiro has the good grace to pose for it. Who do we blame for this sort of intrusive mobile-phone-infused carry-on, then? Ellen DeGeneres?
![Casemiro’s too polite to refuse a selfie with a pitch invader.](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/fde31d39a4648ee91b12f6b95805a852fba16797/0_0_1550_1090/master/1550.jpg?width=465&quality=85&dpr=1&s=none)
56 min: Palace aren’t sparking up front, so it’s time for a change. Mateta makes way for Eze.
54 min: Zaha probes down the right and dinks infield for Olise, who is tripped by Fernandes on the edge of the D. Palace don’t get the free kick, and Selhurst Park erupts accordingly.
52 min: The United fans are doing most of the singing right now. Palace aren’t putting their team under any pressure. On the touchline, Patrick Vieira crosses his arms in frustration.
50 min: From a United corner, Antony aims a curler towards the top left. The effort sails miles over the bar. Palace counter and waste a corner of their own.
48 min: The free kick-cum-corner is no good. United clear with ease. “Moyes binned if West Ham loses to Everton, Lampard binned if Everton loses, what happens if they draw?” wonders Mary Waltz. Ah, the culmination of a decades-long do-si-do, everyone finally ending up back in their original positions.
47 min: Palace counter and Olise spins cutely past Martinez on the right wing. Martinez tugs him back cynically and goes into the book. A free kick right by the corner flag.
46 min: There’s barely a minute of the second half played when Wan-Bissaka tears down the right and cuts back for Fernandes, who shoots hard into the startled face of Hughes. There was some venom behind that shot.
United get the second half underway. No changes. “At this rate, Weghorst will get a seven,” writes Jeff Sax-Sechs (34 min), who nevertheless also asks: “When did I patent the Nunez-o-meter?!?!” I think Rob Smyth filed the paperwork for you a couple of weeks ago.
Half-time reading … and there’s trouble at mill for one of United’s old pals.
HALF TIME: Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester United
Palace defended well during that first half, only to fall asleep just before the break. Bruno Fernandes pounced. As things stand, United will move into second place tonight.
45 min +2: That goal came just a couple of minutes after De Gea’s world-class save. The margins can be tiny in the Premier League.
45 min +1: United have scored first in ten matches this season. They’ve gone on to win all ten.
45 min: There will be three added first-half minutes.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester United (Fernandes 44)
This was too easy. Rashford rolls a pass down the inside-left channel to release Eriksen, who cuts back for Fernandes on the penalty spot. Fernandes has time to take a touch before lashing viciously into the top right! A fine move, but Palace’s defence seemed to fall asleep en masse there, and United didn’t need asking twice.
![Bruno Fernandes beats the diving Vicente Guaita to open the scoring.](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/735689faf63138f915425b5acad9bfa143bca88c/0_0_4291_2575/master/4291.jpg?width=465&quality=85&dpr=1&s=none)
42 min: Antony makes his way down the right but can’t get past Richards. The resulting corner is blootered clear after a brief exchange of weak headers.
41 min: Olise makes his way down the right and drifts infield. He rolls a pass down the channel for Edouard, who holds off Varane on the edge of the United D and sends a dipping shot up and back down towards the top-left corner. That’s in, surely! But De Gea arches his back and, at full stretch, fingertips the ball onto the top of the bar and out for a corner, from which nothing comes. That was a wonderful effort and a simply sensational save!
39 min: … but Rashford sends an uncharacteristically poor effort well wide left. Guaita could have ushered that one wide with a fag on.
38 min: Shaw bustles in from the left and draws a clumsy foul from Doucoure. This is a free kick in Rashford’s range, just to the left of centre, 25 yards out. The in-form striker’s eyes light up.
37 min: Antony sends a harmless looping shot into the arms of Guaita.