League Division One · Matchday 38
Crystal Palace v Manchester United
3–5
Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 5–3 at Selhurst Park on Saturday 17th April 1971 in the League Division One. Denis Law (43', 48', 66') and George Best (58', 65') scored for United.
Timeline
Running score
- Kick Off
- 4' Alan Birchenall 1–0
- 24' Bobby Tambling 2–0
- 43' Denis Law 2–1
- Half Time
- 48' Denis Law 2–2
- 58' George Best 2–3
- 65' George Best 2–4
- 66' Denis Law 2–5
- 70' Francis Burns for Crerand
- 82' Gerry Queen 3–5
- Full Time 3–5
Match Facts
Starting XI
Substitutes
Francis Burns
70' for Crerand
Managers
MUFC
Matt Busby
Manchester United
OPP
Bert Head
Crystal Palace
United vs Crystal Palace History
Meeting 11 of 70
70
Played
43
Won
14
Drawn
13
Lost
119
Goals For
65
Goals Against
All-time record, from the first meeting on Saturday 26th August 1922. After this match United had played Crystal Palace 11 times: 6W 3D 2L.
14 Feb 1970 D 1–1 D1 10 Oct 1970 L 0–1 D1 18 Nov 1970 W 4–2 LC
17 Apr 1971 W 5–3 This match
11 Sep 1971 W 3–1 D1 25 Mar 1972 W 4–0 D1 16 Dec 1972 L 0–5 D1 | All-time | P | W | D | L | F | A | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 35 | 25 | 3 | 7 | 64 | 24 | 71.4 |
| Away | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 45 | 35 | 50.0 |
| Neutral | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 60.0 |
Match results, lineups and goalscorers compiled from mufcinfo.com; advanced match statistics (xG, shots, possession) via FBref and FotMob where available. Last updated 29 September 2026. How we compile this data →