Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has heaped praise upon Mason Mount after the English midfielder's stunning effort earned all three points for the Red Devils at Crystal Palace. The former Chelsea player has struggled since moving to Old Trafford, but will be hopeful that Sunday's performance can be the start of a turnaround in form at United.
United recover to earn precious victory
The writing looked on the wall for United when they fell behind in south London courtesy of a Jean-Phillipe Mateta penalty. The Eagles have an impressive record against the Red Devils and would have assumed that they were on for another victory when they opened the scoring. The flat performance of the visitors in the first half did little to suggest much to the contrary either, with another disappointing trip back up to the northwest of England beckoning for Ruben Amorim and his players.
Yet, after the half-time interval, the United midfield helped turn around the display and the result. Fernandes was integral to the victory, registering two assists for Joshua Zirkzee and Mount and earning the Player of the Match award. United fans will have been worried when their skipper appeared to fall down injured late in the game, but Amorim has insisted the Portuguese maestro is not too badly hurt.
After the game, Fernandes was highly complimentary of Mount. The pair had combined for the winner – Fernandes nudging the ball to Mount from a free-kick before the midfielder struck low into the net – and demonstrated signs of a partnership developing.
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Speaking to , Fernandes described Mount as a "great player" and was delighted to see his team-mate back amongst the goals.
"Mason is a great player," Fernandes said. "His quality was never in doubt with his team-mates. Sometimes he struggled a bit for goals and assists and also with injuries, but when he gets his fitness, he is important."
The words of Fernandes echoed those of his coach. Before the game, Amorim had said the 26-year-old is "really smart" and offers a goal threat that not many others in his squad possess.
The ex-Sporting CP manager was proven right by his number seven.
Milestone for Mount
It was not only an important goal for Mount against Crystal Palace, but the midfielder also reached a long-awaited milestone. He played the full 90 minutes of a Premier League game for the first time in almost three years, with his last completed fixture coming in a Chelsea shirt, also against Crystal Palace in January 2023.
It represents a huge step in the right direction for the United man, who has been plagued by a series of injuries throughout his time at Old Trafford. Mount’s time at Chelsea faltered and ended in a disappointing exit out the back door after a number of setbacks reduced him to a mere squad player.
Mount exploded onto the scene as a youngster and quickly established himself as a key player in the Chelsea midfield. The Cobham graduate would go on to provide the match-winning assist for Kai Havertz in the Champions League final in his career highlight, but has not reached those heights again since.
Getty/GOALUp next for United: West Ham at home
With Mount seemingly beginning to put his injury woes behind him, Amorim can look forward to using the immensely talented player more often. Capable of playing as one of the two central midfielders or anywhere across the front-line of Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation, Mount can offer something slightly different to any of United’s other options.
Should Amorim be able to revitalise Mount and restore him to the player he was when he first took the Premier League by storm, United will start to think they struck gold with a player shunted out of Stamford Bridge.
There is still a long way to go before Mount eclipses the levels he reached at the Blues, but his goal and 90 minutes at Selhurst Park is a start. He has a chance to build on Sunday’s performance with a game against West Ham at Old Trafford on Thursday.