Manchester United vs. Middlesbrough: Score, Reaction from 2016 Premier League

Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba came to Manchester United's rescue at the 11th hour on Saturday as the Red Devils fought back from a goal down to beat Middlesbrough 2-1 in the Premier League following goals in the 85th and 86th minutes.

Grant Leadbitter opened the scoreline early in the second half, but France internationals Martial and Pogba scored twice within a minute of one another to scrape all three points.

Pogba and Martial each hit the woodwork in the first half, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic controversially had a goal ruled out by referee Lee Mason after it was alleged the striker fouled Victor Valdes.

The Mirror's Alex Richards highlighted the comeback result could hardly have come on a more fond milestone for the home club, either, as United completed a resurgence in "Fergie Time":

Despite there not being a goal throughout the opening 45 minutes, United had plenty to be encouraged about in the opening period, and Pogba was breaking out the flair early on in an attempt to put his side ahead.

Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News praised the Frenchman's early bicycle-kick effort on goal that struck the post, taking note of in-form Henrikh Mkhitaryan's input in the buildup:

The Red Devils continue to mount a major advantage in possession and actually accounted for two-thirds of the ball over the course of the first 45 minutes, per WhoScored.com.

The mood was dampened by Ibrahimovic's goal that never was approaching the end of the half, although Squawka posted images showing Mason's decision the Swede fouled Boro No. 1 Valdes was perhaps wide of the mark:

Ibrahimovic appeared to make contact with the ball long before he met a flailing Valdes, and Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker agreed the decision was perhaps the wrong one:

Martial also went close to bagging the opener with his long-range effort around the 40-minute mark, but again thudding the post was as good as the United attacker could do in his attempt to break the deadlock.

Stuart Mathieson of MEN revisited Ibrahimovic's ruled out goal as a defining point in the half, although he predicted United's breakthrough wasn't far away:

Daley Blind and Marouane Fellaini came off in place of Marcos Rojo and Juan Mata, respectively, with 25 minutes remaining, and it wasn't long after the double change that Leadbitter fired in the opener.

A superbly taken header down from Alvaro Negredo put the ball on a plate for Leadbitter, who scorched low and hard inside David De Gea's far post to mark a milestone appearance, per the Premier League: 

United manager Jose Mourinho also threw on Marcus Rashford in place of Chris Smalling for the final 20 minutes, and his impact helped give Ibrahimovic the space he needed up front to provide more of a platform in attack.

Ibrahimovic climbed highest to nod a surging ball forward into the trajectory of Martial, and the France international made no mistakes as he thundered a climactic equaliser past Valdes. Richards wrote it was a deserving reward for the scorer:

United weren't finished there, though, and Pogba diverted an inch-perfect cross from Mata into Valdes' top-right corner to complete the comeback, an outcome BT Sport Score's panel could hardly believe:

In a season where Mourinho has found himself at times struggling to live up to the standards of managerial predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson, Saturday's revival was undoubtedly a result even the Scot would have been proud of.

As fate would have it, Leadbitter's strike ended up as one of Middlesbrough's two shots on target, while United found their mark 12 times from an incredible 32 efforts on goal.

The Red Devils now have just 48 hours to prepare for Monday's clash away at West Ham United, and the Hammers look to be a vulnerable foe at present after they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Leicester City on Saturday.

Middlesbrough, meanwhile, face a quick turnaround before they prepare to face the Foxes at the Riverside Stadium on Monday, hoping to better the 2-2 result they clinched away to Leicester City in November.

Post-Match Reaction

Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

On a day that will have reminded many at the Theatre of Dreams of the days witnessed under former manager Ferguson, although supporters may not welcome the same drama on a weekly basis.

Mourinho noted Ferguson "deserved" to see a victory such as Saturday's upon returning to Old Trafford for his 75th birthday, speaking to MUTV (via Manchester United's official Twitter account):

The Portuguese went on to tell BBC Sport of the "very good feeling" Saturday's win had imbued upon him before paying recognition to close friend Karanka, who fell short in his side's trip to Old Trafford:

"

It’s a very good feeling, as I was expecting I don’t feel the same happiness because my brother is on the other side.

Aitor Karanka did his job amazing away but my brother is sad so I'm sad.

My players were phenomenal. We managed to do something I love – bring the fans to the pitch. The last 15 mins were 70,000 on the pitch against 11.

"

Karanka also paid United a compliment in kind and conceded the Red Devils "created much more problems for us than Manchester City," per BBC Sport's Simon Stone.