Manchester United missed out on the chance to make meaningful ground on league-leaders Arsenal as they were held to a 1-1 draw away at Crystal Palace.
Last time the Red Devils rocked up at Selhurst Park, they were led by interim boss Ralf Rangnick and fell to a feeble 1-0 defeat on the last day of last season. Things look drastically different this time around, as Erik ten Hag's United revolution takes shape.
Antony nearly put the visitors in front in the 21st minute following a mix-up in the Palace defence, but the Brazilian could only guide his lobbed effort just wide of Vicente Guaita's goal.
Much of the first-half passed by with little to note, but Odsonne Edouard sparked some life into the affair when he nearly put the hosts in front with a thumping effort but David de Gea somehow tipped it on to the frame of the goal.
Minutes later however, Bruno Fernandes fired United into the lead. Christian Eriksen took advantage of some sloppy defending to guide the ball into the vice-captain's path and he made no mistake with a fierce right-footed strike to give Guaita no chance.
The second-half was equally as cagey, though another smart stop from De Gea to deny Marc Guehi's header kept the hosts at bay. The Spaniard could do nothing about Michael Olise's stunner of a free-kick in second-half stoppage time as it cannoned in off the roof of the crossbar. Mirror Football has identified six talking points as United surrendered a vital lead late on.
Ten Hag just misses out on Ferguson record
Jose Mourinho was the last manager to oversee nine wins in a row for United, no manager had done 10 since club icon Sir Alex Ferguson - but Ten Hag came so close.
The Dutchman has his troops playing with a perfect blend of steel and skill that makes them both so difficult to deal with and a nightmare to try and break down.
Palace were giving as good as they got for large parts of the clash, but United's quality eventually struck. However, Olise ensured Ten Hag fails to match Ferguson's brilliance for now.
Regardless, a win at the Emirates would still change the landscape of United's season entirely.
Fernandes finding form
United's number eight appears to be finding form at just the right time as the Red Devils apply pressure to the likes of Arsenal and City.
Fernandes put United in front just before the interval to ensure he has now scored in successive league games for the first time in just under a year following his heroics against Pep Guardiola's side last Saturday.
His strike also means that Paul Scholes is now the only central midfielder in United's history with more goals than Fernandes, who boasts 40, though he is still 67 shy of Scholes' tally.
The 28-year-old will need to net a few more if United are to continue their sensational turnaround in fortune from the shaky start to the season they endured.
Casemiro suspended for Arsenal trip
For all of the positives from United's performance, Ten Hag still has one huge headache going into Sunday's meeting with Arsenal.
After a particularly brutal and high tackle on Wilfried Zaha, Casemiro was shown a yellow card by Robert Jones - ensuring he is now suspended for the trip to the Emirates.
It comes as a huge blow for the Red Devils, who will now have to thwart the influence of the likes of Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka without their own main man in midfield.
Bruno's bust-up with Antony
While it is commonplace for team-mates to occasionally have a pop at each other on the pitch, it is not often you see it up close and high definition.
That is, however, exactly what those watching this tie at home got when Fernandes and Antony were spotted engaging in some verbals with each other after a dodgy pass from the former.
Fernandes felt that his United colleague could have made more of an effort to get on the end of one of his passes and made well sure Antony was aware of that.
The frustrations of the Portugal international were greeted with fury from Antony, who flung his arms up in the direction of Fernandes while muttering what appeared to be obscenities in the direction of United's stand-in skipper.
Weghorst watch
The loanee got his first taste of action in a United shirt at Selhurst Park tasked with giving the likes of Fernandes, Rashford and Antony someone to play off of.
It became clear that Weghorst was central to the game plan early on, with his colleagues taking very little time to fire a few aerial crosses in his direction.
The Netherlands international showcased some bright flicks and imposed himself physically, but struggled to really make any kind of meaningful impact on his United debut.
Weghorst was withdrawn with just over 20 minutes left to play to put an end to a quiet first outing.
Palace's mixed evening
The Eagles came into this tie boasting the rather unwanted record of not beating a top-half team all season and that remains the case despite the draw against United.
Vieira made a number of bold calls this evening, including pairing Jean-Philippe Mateta and Edouard up front for the first time this season as well as handing Chris Richards a Premier League debut.
It was also the first time Vieira had selected all three of Zaha, Mateta and Edouard from the first whistle in his entire Palace reign.
Though the defensive set-up kept United at bay for large parts, the Palace attack rarely clicked as Vieira would have liked considering the tweaks he made, though he won't care too much after Olise's thunderbolt.
