Jesse Lingard's extra-time strike gave 10-man Manchester United a 2-1 victory in the FA Cup against Crystal Palace after a dramatic match at Wembley.

After a tame opening hour Palace opened the scoring with a thunderous finish by Eagles substitute Jason Puncheon, who beat David De Gea at his near post after a lovely touch set himself up for the shot with 12 minutes left on the clock.

But Juan Mata levelled for United within three minutes, sending the match to extra time. Chris Smalling was sent off for a second bookable offence at the end of the first period, and five minutes after the restart Lingard latched on to a ball cleared out of the Palace six-yard box and volleyed an unstoppable shot beyond Wayne Hennessey.

The game began slightly behind schedule after a lengthy pre-match show that saw Tinie Tempah perform and singer Karen Harding miss here cue to sing the national anthem. And it appeared as if the performers had passed their nerves on to referee Mark Clattenburg in an eventful first half.

First Clattenburg failed to play advantage when Connor Wickham was fouled by Smalling, with the striker getting to his feet and finding the back of the net before he realised the whistle had gone. And then the official further enraged Palace by Wayne Rooney knocked Wilfried Zaha off balance in the box.

There was plenty for Palace to complain about at the break, but it was United who came out for the second half fired up, with first Marouane Fellaini and then Anthony Martial striking the woodwork.

The opening goal came when Puncheon’s corner was not dealt with by United, allowing the return cross to pick out the unmarked set-piece at the back post. Palace thought they’d won it, but Wayne Rooney – would had enjoyed a quiet afternoon – had other ideas, bursting into the box and picking out Fellaini to chest down for Mata.

Extra-time failed to spark into life, until Smalling hauled down Yannick Bolasie for his second booking of the game. But it was still United who looked the more likely to win it and Lingard’s thumping finish ensured that Palace’s long wait for major silverware will go on.

The win for United ends the club’s trophy drought since the departure of Alex Ferguson and means that Louis van Gaal has won a trophy in what is likely to be his final match as manager.

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