Smalling: The Fans Deserved Win Over Palace

Chris Smalling dedicated Manchester United’s superb comeback victory over Crystal Palace to the Reds fans who travelled to Selhurst Park on Monday night.

United produced a sensational turnaround to come back from two goals down to claim a 3-2 win, thanks to a stunning injury-time strike from Nemanja Matic, who was voted Man of the Match by fans on Twitter.

Around 2,000 supporters made the near 500-mile round trip to south-east London and enjoyed the scenes of jubilation in the away end in the dying stages as Matic celebrated his first goal for the club with them.

Smalling, who started the comeback with a fine header for his second goal of the season before Romelu Lukaku equalised, felt the three points were the reward for the loyal fans who showed their commitment to make the long journey for the game.

“You could see the emotions when we were celebrating with the fans right at the end,” the defender told MUTV. “It’s been a while since there was a comeback like that, but it was a great feeling. I think the fans deserve that.”

The Reds trailed 2-0 in the 48th minute to goals from Andros Townsend and Patrick van Aanholt before an improved second-half display saw Jose Mourinho’s men turn things around. Smalling put the revival down to some inspired changes from the bench and praised the character of the team.

“We started the first half very sloppy but we had that intensity in the second half and I think we deserved it in the end,” our no.12 said. “The subs made a difference in the second half – we made all our changes and they made an impact.

“I think it was a case where it was a never-say-die attitude and the character of the guys to go 2-0 down and go to win the game. Normally we don't find ourselves 2-0 down but on an occasion like tonight, it’s a tough place to come, Selhurst Park.

“We dug in and it was a big win in the end. It probably knocks some of our competitors who were probably enjoying it when we were losing 2-0. They [Palace] played to their strengths with two big men up front who caused a lot of problems. We knew we had to be on our toes and it was a good battle – I enjoyed it.”

The dramatic comeback win saw the Reds move back up to second place in the Premier League, ahead of our next opponents Liverpool, who visit Old Trafford for an eagerly awaited showdown on Saturday.

Smalling added: “I think it tees it up perfectly [for the Liverpool game] but we go above them again. We've got three big home games in three different competitions. When we're playing at Old Trafford, everything is possible. It's a special fixture [against Liverpool]. After tonight, we turn our attentions to that game and we'll be waiting with a smile on our face to welcome them to Old Trafford."