Van Gaal's first Manchester United trophy might have come in his last game

Shortly after Louis Van Gaal delivered Manchester United its first piece of silverware in three years, Manchester United appears to have delivered Van Gaal his walking papers.

Jesse Lingard’s gorgeous volley in the 110th minute beat Crystal Palace 2-1 and won the Red Devils their record-tying 12th FA Cup, and first in 12 seasons.

Many felt Van Gaal needed to win the trophy to save his job, and now it appears even that wasn’t enough. The BBC is reporting that Manchester United has agreed in principle to appoint Jose Mourinho its new manager later this week, bringing an end to Van Gaal’s uneven two years as manager.

One bright spot for United under Van Gaal has been the emergence of young stars this season, and Lingard is an example. The 23-year-old winger replaced Juan Mata, who had drawn United level earlier, as extra time began with the score tied 1-1.

Lingard’s stunning strike came with United down to 10 men, as defender Chris Smalling had been sent off a few minutes earlier due to his second yellow card of the match. Antonio Valencia made a nice run down the right side, and his cross was deflected into the area of Lingard, who latched onto it with elegant authority:

Another one of United’s young stars, however, was culpable on Crystal Palace’s goal. After a rather drab 78 minutes of play, Palace’s Joel Ward played a long ball forward for Jason Puncheon, who took one touch and beat helpless United goalkeeper David De Gea with a rocket into the roof of the net.

Further looks reveal Puncheon was kept onside by United’s Anthony Martial, who has shown spectacular attacking abilities this season but was slow to make his way up the field:

With Crystal Palace on the verge of the first major trophy in the club’s 111-year history, manager Alan Pardew celebrated with a dance he’ll surely regret:

Two minutes later, Mata equalized with a shot off a cross by Wayne Rooney, who won the FA Cup for the first time in his illustrious United career.

History provided a curious symmetry with this final. Twenty-six years ago, legendary United manager Sir Alex Ferguson beat Crystal Palace to win the FA Cup and earn his first trophy with the club. It was widely believed he needed to win or else he would have been sacked, and his peerless run of success at Old Trafford would never have been realized.

Clearly Ferguson and Van Gaal managed United amid different circumstances, but it doesn’t seem like the FA Cup triumph over Crystal Palace will save the manager’s job this time, which puts United in an odd situation.

There’s no denying Mourinho’s track record of success, and success has been difficult for United to come by in the three years since Ferguson’s departure. But Mourinho prefers star-stacked squads and isn’t really a manager who develops young players. United’s brand is a good fit for Mourinho. The current squad may not be.

Of course, the club will address those issues this summer. Saturday rekindled the emotions of past United glory, even if the future is once again uncertain.