Comparing Manchester United's Win over Crystal Palace to Last Season's Game

Manchester United's win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Wednesday night was crucial. With three minutes to go of the 90, it looked as if the Red Devils were heading for another immensely frustrating draw, this one with a wrongly disallowed goal and penalty that should have been awarded thrown in.

Instead, though, the summer's superstar signings stepped up. Paul Pogba's beautifully weighted through ball was seized upon by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whose finish was so elegant, so measured and artful, it should be framed and hung in the Louvre.

And with that, all three points travelled back to Manchester with Jose Mourinho and his men.

The whole game was a far cry from last season's trip to Selhurst Park. That game will most likely be forgotten by history. On 31 October, 2015, United and Palace played out a thoroughly uninspiring 0-0 draw. However, it was a hugely significant moment in former manager Louis van Gaal's United career.

That game was the first time the chant of "we're Man United—we want to attack" was given an airing. Fast forward a little over a year, and United's away support was in typically good voice. Given the location, it was no surprise particular emphasis was given to songs about Eric Cantona.

The fact there were no complaints from the United end shows just how much the mood among those supporters has been transformed. Because while results have not always been favourable, and there have been a couple of ropey performances, United have definitely been attacking.

After the October 2015 draw, Bleacher Report asked Van Gaal about the chants. His answer was telling, an indication that he did not understand what the fans were complaining about. He acknowledged the fans' rights to express their views but added: "After Arsenal, it was the first time that we were not the better team away. They have seen it very good, I think, so they can sing that, but the next game they shall sing in maybe another way."

In truth, though, few fans would have agreed with him. "Arsenal" was a reference to the 3-0 demolition United had suffered at the Emirates Stadium earlier that month. However, even his notion of what made United "the better team" in the games to which he referred strongly differed from watching supporters.

The antiseptic possession-first approach he took was anathema to the team's support, and Palace was where it first reached boiling point. Van Gaal may have believed the fans were being impatient or responding to a one-off event, but it was much deeper than that.

One regular match-going, dyed-in-the-wool, patience-preaching Red revealed to Bleacher Report that it was the game in which they lost faith in Van Gaal's United ever succeeding, that it was the game in which they became convinced of the manager's lack of suitability for the culture of the club he was running.

Mourinho may not yet be universally beloved among United fans, but he has won plenty over and had plenty on board to start with.

A statistical comparison between the two performances shows the stark contrast in approach between last season's game and Wednesday's. United had 55.4 per cent of the possession in 2015. Mourinho's side—perhaps a little surprisingly—outdid that, keeping the ball for 61 per cent of the time.  

However, what they did with it was markedly different. Alan Pardew's side outshot Van Gaal's by 10 to five in October 2015, managing five shots on target. Mourinho's men took 16 shots to Palace's six, with six of United's shots finding the target.

If they had not won, it would have been something of a travesty. If United had managed victory at Selhurst Park last season, it would have been tough for the home side to take.

Interestingly, United played fewer passes and a higher percentage of long passes under Van Gaal in this fixture than they did under Mourinho. On Wednesday, the Red Devils made 652 passes, of which 9 per cent were long balls. In 2015, they made 475, with 12 per cent going long.

United's win over Tottenham Hotspur that preceded this season's trip to Selhurst Park was earned off the back of a counter-attacking performance. At Palace, though, they showed their mettle in a dominant possession-based attack. That kind of pragmatic flexibility is an enormous difference between the two managers.

Van Gaal would never adapt to the opposition, and it frequently cost United, both in terms of games in which more attacking intent was needed and games in which a more rigorously structured defence was required.

And Mourinho's side uses possession with so much more purpose. Those shot numbers are a perfect representation of that.

A look at the two starting XIs tells a story, too. Van Gaal lined United up in a 4-2-3-1, with Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger in midfield. Ander Herrera played at No. 10, with Wayne Rooney ahead of him, Anthony Martial on one flank and Juan Mata on the other.

Of those players, only three started Wednesday's game, and only Mata started in the same position. Mourinho went with a far superior midfield three of Pogba, Herrera and Michael Carrick. Ahead of them were Rooney on the left, Ibrahimovic through the middle and Mata on the right.

It was a considerably more progressive approach, with just one defensive-minded midfielder rather than the Schweinsteiger-Schneiderlin combination that so often limited United's attacking options in Van Gaal's final season in charge.

In truth, Mourinho's selection was a long way from featuring United's best possible front three. There is an obvious lack of pace there, and all three are naturally drawn to the same areas of the pitch—likely to drift deep and central. The addition of Anthony Martial and/or Henrikh Mkhitaryan would obviously improve their balance.

Nonetheless, the midfield and the enormous upgrade in quality made this past summer made all the difference. Ibrahimovic and Pogba combined for both goals, and as previously mentioned, the winner was sublime.

The first was an altogether more fortunate affair. Indeed, having mentioned that United had a goal incorrectly ruled out, it should be said that their first probably should not have stood. Ibrahimovic handled the ball, and Pogba was probably offside. However, it is hard to deny that United deserve a little good fortune given the way the season has gone so far.

And they did not leave their win to fortune. Van Gaal's methods so often saw United needing to take one big chance to have the opportunity to win the game because chance creation was at such a premium. Mourinho's United have no such issue.

This was not a vintage performance, but it was nonetheless a huge improvement on what happened last season. It is no wonder the United fans in the crowd spent most of the game running through the songbook, celebrating their past heroes with glee.

The current crop much better resembles the United they fell in love with than the football that was served up by Van Gaal.

It was a big win, and a heavy underline on the notion that whatever troubles Mourinho may have had this season so far, the team is consistently much better to watch—and much harder to play against—than the previous manager's side was on all but a handful of occasions.

Quotations obtained firsthand.

Advanced data per WhoScored.com.