Bruno Fernandes Reveals the Moment United Found Their Second-Half Spark
30 November 2025
Second-half turnaround
Portuguese captain Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United's leader, revealed the gap between his team's performances in the two halves of the Crystal Palace game.
Manchester United overturned a first-half deficit to claim a valuable 2-1 victory at Selhurst Park in the 13th round of the Premier League.
Mount and Zirkzee's decisive strikes
Fernandes told the BBC that the first half was a bit slow with the ball and that United played to Palace's strengths, but faltered with second balls.
Things changed after the break, and United grew stronger on second balls and dominated possession.
On Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee's goals, Fernandes said they were brilliant and that he did not expect Joshua to score from that angle, yet acknowledged his teammate's abilities.
He added that United did exactly the same in training, and today he was proud of how the goals were finished.
He noted that strikers live for goals; Zirkzee is more of a creator who enjoys building play, but scoring gives him a huge boost in confidence.
United climbed five places, rising from 12th to seventh with 21 points, while Palace remained on 20 points in ninth.
Punchline 1: If goals were jokes, Zirkzee just delivered a mic-drop from that angle.
Punchline 2: And Bruno? He would direct the comeback, write the script, and score the finale—somebody call Hollywood.
