The temperature may have been bitterly cold near the away dressing room at Selhurst Park following the final whistle, but the upbeat atmosphere amongst the Manchester United players was providing plenty of warmth. Captain Bruno Fernandes shared a light-hearted moment with Joshua Zirkzee about adjusting his trousers, whilst a smiling Luke Shaw engaged in an extended chat with veteran broadcaster Martin Tyler before making his way to the team coach.

Ruben Amorim was determined to maintain the buoyant mood as he spotted the gathered group of reporters waiting in the mixed zone and playfully suggested conducting an impromptu press conference before the official one. Ultimately, he offered his apologies and hurried up the staircase to the Media Centre.

Match-winner Mason Mount’s cheerful demeanour was evident as he approached the journalists, quipping that we were preventing his exit. Once the amusement died down, Mount revealed the exchange between himself and Fernandes moments before the decisive goal.

He said: “We always have a little conversation. I said to him: ‘I will roll it for you,’ and then he said: ‘You stay there,’ and then I said: ‘You shoot,’ because obviously the sun was difficult today and was causing a few problems for us first half with long balls and I thought it would be difficult for Deano [Henderson] to see the ball in goal.

“And then he said: ‘You stay there,’ and rolled it over and you can see with my reaction to getting on the end of it… He obviously said it but really quick and that’s why it helped out the situation. They didn’t see it coming, they didn’t see us talking, they were late to react and it is about finding that little bit of space in the wall, that little disruption and then hit the target.”

Sunday marked the first occasion Mount has played a full 90 minutes since his Chelsea days, ironically against the same opponents. “It felt like a long time,” Mount laughed when discussing completing the entire match.

“It is obviously a massive positive for me as well. I have been working hard recently, I feel really good now so to get that 90 minutes under my belt is really positive, it is all about recovery now and going towards the next game.”

At the interval, it appeared such an upbeat discussion with Mount wouldn’t be possible. United struggled during the first half and were justifiably trailing at half-time following Jean-Philippe Mateta’s converted penalty.

Whilst United supporters may have been concerned, Amorim remained composed in the changing room. Mount revealed: “He was saying to keep going, stay calm do what we needed to do. We all knew what to do in that second half.

“They have just played recently so we felt they could drop off in that second half, there was chances there for us so just carry on what we are doing. Obviously difficult to go down 1-0 but we showed character to get back into the game in the second half.”

Whilst the display wasn’t flawless, securing three points is what counts most for the Reds at this crucial juncture. They’ve now closed the gap on the top four, and Mount made his ambitions crystal clear.

He said: “I have had niggles but nothing bad at all [this season]. I have felt good this season, I had a good pre-season under my belt, I have been working hard in training every week, not just me, but as a group we have been at it, it’s up and down but we are in a lot better place me personally and a group.

“We need to kick on now, win more games and the most important thing is to win, difficult result in the last game but to come back today was massively important. So yeah it is time to kick on now and shoot for those top four positions.”