The attacker kept his composure to fire home his second penalty of the game after Noni Madueke had been felled inside the box. That was in the 100th minute of a remarkable game, and there was still time for one more twist.

An unmarked Palmer received a quickly-taken corner and drilled a shot goalwards. It took a slight deflection and nestled in the net, sparking pandemonium inside the Bridge.

That victory in April 2024 ignited our push for European football, which has culminated in us reaching the UEFA Conference League final. For Palmer, the hat-trick will always live long in the memory, and he has been reflecting on it in the build-up to the corresponding fixture this season.

‘I remember that Bruno [Fernandes] and [Diogo] Dalot were passing the ball to each other and we couldn’t get it off them,’ Palmer recalled.

‘That was like the 97th minute. I was thinking the game was finished. But then we won a penalty, and I think they gave us the ball straight back [from kick-off].

‘We countered and then Carney [Chukwuemeka] almost scored. And then my third goal went in. I’ve seen the video, everyone was pointing at me, but nobody picked me up.’

Palmer has regularly hit the heights he did last season, scoring an impressive 15 Premier League goals, although maintaining that level for the entire campaign has understandably not proved possible.

However, he was superb in the win over Liverpool a fortnight ago and backed that performance up by leading our spirited second-half display at St James’ Park. He took responsibility in possession and worked hard out of it, as we fought hard with 10 men.

Palmer says what he was doing against Liverpool ‘was working’ and he felt like he did earlier in the campaign, when the goals were flying in. With the occasional low as well as so many highs, the way 2024/25 has panned out for Palmer will benefit him in the long run.

‘It’s been a learning curve,’ he acknowledged. ‘I feel in the first half of the season, I picked off from where I was last season.

‘Then I had a little patch. Obviously, that bothered me because when you go from scoring every week, scoring hat-tricks, and then go to a patch when things aren’t happening for you, you think about what’s going on. But I spoke to the manager and people here, and they said it was normal.’

Palmer’s form has been intertwined with that of the team, which is no surprise considering the major hand he plays. He believes we are trending upwards as the season reaches a conclusion and is determined to create more happy United home memories tonight.

‘We had a great start, then a dip, but I feel we have found our feet again,’ said Palmer.

‘For everyone - the manager, the players, the supporters - we want to make the Champions League. So we need to win these next two games.

‘We need to play the way we did against the big teams that have come here. You could see against Liverpool that we were hungry and ready. We need to show the same again and hopefully we can be alright.’

With Palmer in the side, Bob Marley and the Wailers’ words usually ring true. Every little thing gonna be alright.