3 clearances, 6 long balls, 13 passes into the final third: Heavily criticised United star looked back to his best vs Palace

Manchester United secured yet another comeback win in the Premier League, this time a 2-1 win away from home against high-flying Crystal Palace on Sunday. The Eagles were on a 12-game unbeaten run at Selhurst Park, and at half-time, it seemed like they would extend their winning run. But up stepped Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount in the second half to ensure the visitors came out on top, their first three points in four games. While the attackers will rightly take home the plaudits, one player who will be lauded by the players and the coaching staff back in the dressing room is Luke Shaw. Luke Shaw answers his critics The Englishman has had a rough last couple of years due to injury, and this is the first time in three seasons he is playing regularly. MetricValue Goals0 Assists0 Expected assists (xA)0.01 Tackles (won)1 (0) Interceptions3 Clearances3 Blocked shots1 Recoveries3 Ground duels (won)2 (1) Aerial duels (won)4 (2) Fouls1 Dribbled past0 Key passes0 Crosses (accurate)0 (0) Accurate passes58/67 (87%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)24/32 (75%) Passes in own half (acc.)34/35 (97%) Long balls (accurate)6/10 (60%) Touches78 Unsuccessful touches1 Dribbles (successful)0 (0) Possession lost10 Total shots0 Shots on target0 Shots blocked0 stats via sofascore There have been mistakes in previous games, and his lack of intensity has been criticised, but on Sunday, he was immense. He made a last-ditch tackle that kept the scores level early in the second-half and generally looked like a wall at times at the back. The 30-year-old made a total of eight defensive contributions, including one tackle, one block, three clearances and as many interceptions. Now for him to carry on in the same vein He was aggressive in the press, winning the ball back three times while never getting dribbled past. And was equally effective moving forward. The United No.23 completed the most passes in the game, with 87 per cent of them finding their man. That included six accurate long balls as well as 13 passes into the final third (all stats via fotmob). The England international will now have to contend with Lisandro Martinez for a place in the starting XI, but if he keeps this level of performance up, Amorim will have a hard time ignoring him. Maybe, it is time to hand him a chance out wide at left wingback. United clearly lack quality in that area. He could be the answer to Amorim’s problems. Feature image Julian Finney via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25