No Premier League side has gone 1-0 down less often than Palace this season, but they nearly found themselves behind inside the opening minute here.
Diogo Dalot’s long throw wreaked havoc in the Eagles’ box, and Dean Henderson needed to be at his best to rush out and smother Casemiro’s effort from point-blank range.
The Brazilian then headed wide from a Bruno Fernandes free-kick, but United’s threat was fleeting in the first half, with the low winter sun shining in their defenders’ eyes seemingly causing unrest at the back.
Jean-Philippe Mateta benefited from Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro's errors to fashion two chances for himself, but dragged both wide, while Senne Lammens was on hand to keep out tame efforts from Daichi Kamada and Adam Wharton.
The hosts’ pressure intensified, and though Yoro was the hero when blocking Yeremy Pino’s close-range volley, he was soon the villain when he tripped Mateta to concede a penalty.
Palace’s talisman converted initially, but with the use of a double touch, prompting a retake, but he sent Lammens the wrong way on both occasions.
His seventh successful spot-kick from as many attempts in the league took his goal tally in the competition to 17 in 2025 - a total bettered only by Erling Haaland - and sent Oliver Glasner’s men into half-time with a deserved lead.
The omens certainly weren’t good for a United side that had failed to score in the previous four league meetings with Palace, but they emerged from the interval re-energised.
They needed less than 10 minutes of the second half to equalise through Joshua Zirkzee, who ended a 24-game scoring drought in the league with a brilliant volley from an acute angle at the near post after being found by Fernandes.
Set-pieces were the Red Devils’ best outlet all afternoon, and another one just beyond the hour completed the turnaround.
Fernandes laid off a free-kick to Mason Mount, who rifled underneath a dispersed Palace wall and in at the near post to send the away end wild.
The onus therefore switched to Palace to stage a late fightback, but the visitors controlled the closing stages well, seeing out just a second win in 12 away league games, and just a fourth from their last 27 league trips to London.
It was the perfect response for Ruben Amorim’s men after a bruising defeat to Everton last week, but Palace have now squandered the lead to lose 2-1 in successive matches, with this a first loss to United on home soil since July 2020.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
