Injury-hit Manchester United slipped to another embarrassing low on Monday night when they were beaten by a lively Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
The Red Devils fielded a ragtag squad and lacked stability as goals from Michael Olise and Jean-Philippe Mateta gave Palace a deserved lead at half-time.
Tyrick Mitchell converted from close range before Olise added another from distance, leaving United completely outmatched and outplayed in an embarrassing performance.
How the game developed
Man Utd’s injury crisis had truly reached unsustainable heights before kick-off at Selhurst Park. Bruno Fernandes was missing, while the defense was hit particularly hard with the likes of Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof all unavailable. Jonny Evans prevailed and started alongside Casemiro in central defense.
Eberechi Eze missed the draw at Fulham last week but recovered in time to join Eagles colleague Olise in attack behind the in-form Mateta.
United’s starting XI of square pegs in round holes was broken up in the 12th minute when Olise gave the hosts the lead. The Frenchman, who is rumored to be admired by those in charge at Old Trafford, allowed makeshift centre-back Casemiro to slip far too easily and raced towards the penalty area, where he shot past the outstretched André Onana and into the bottom corner.
Unsurprisingly, the visitors were out of sync in attack without captain Fernandes as Mason Mount had a volley saved, but Palace looked more dangerous as their trio of Olise, Eze and Mateta pressed the struggling defense and forced mistakes.
Oliver Glasner’s side almost gave United an equalizer when Dean Henderson saved Casemiro’s header from a corner, although the goalkeeper appeared to have been fouled by Rasmus Hojlund.
A mistake from Kobbie Mainoo almost allowed Palace to double their lead. The young midfielder’s back pass to Onana was missed, but his teammate did enough to prevent Olise from going around him.
Although United saw enough of the ball, they looked toothless and instead, with their patched-up defense, they hoped Palace would shoot wide when they inevitably fell behind. However, Mateta then delivered an incredibly skilful finish to give Palace a 2-0 lead.
Chris Richards’ pass opened up United’s lead as Mateta ran towards Evans, who desperately threw out a leg as the big Frenchman ran past him. His strike was fierce as it whizzed past Onana at the near post, giving him his 12th Premier League goal of the season and fifth in his last four games.
Since there was little quality on the pitch in the first 45 minutes and there was hardly any experience on the bench, Ten Hag was left with a huge team talk at half-time.
Their first shot on target at least came when Antony tried his luck from distance, but Henderson was easily able to compose himself. Casemiro then converted after his header hit the post only to see the offside flag go up, the Brazilian well ahead of the last defender.
However, for all their huffing and puffing, United scored their third goal just an hour ago. Adam Wharton’s dangerous pass left Joachim Andersen battling with Diogo Dalot. The ball bounced kindly to Mitchell, who struck in from close range and compounded Ten Hag’s woes – still with 30 minutes left.
Things soon got worse as Olise capitalized on terrible mistakes from Casemiro and Onana. The Brazilian tried to get the ball out but was dispossessed by Munoz, who passed it back to Olise. His powerful but central shot thundered into the net, with Onana’s poor positioning not allowing him to get closer.
Palace’s strong end to the season is evidence of their switch to coach Glasner mid-season, despite being endlessly supported by a Man Utd side with no desire or discipline.
TW: Dean Henderson – 6/10 – Maybe he had some luck to avoid conceding a goal but was bundled out by Hojlund. Will enjoyed an otherwise quiet night against his former team.
CB: Nathaniel Clyne – 7/10 -Allowed Munoz to come forward and get a few assists. Keeps Garnacho calm as he turns downfield.
CB: Joachim Andersen – 7/10 -His argument with Dalot helped Mitchell convert. Had hardly any problems with his compatriot Hojlund.
CB: Chris Richards – 7/10 – He pushed in and played the pass to set up Mateta for his goal.
RWB: Daniel Munoz – 8/10 – Thrown the ball to Olise to assist but his second was brilliant, catching Casemiro off guard before Olise struck in from distance.
CM: Adam Wharton – 8/10 – Made some important and eye-catching tackles, including one to stop Hojlund from running away.
CM: Will Hughes – 7/10 – Was excellent alongside Wharton in squelching any momentum United were trying to gain.
LWB: Tyrick Mitchell – 8/10 – He scored only his third ever Premier League goal and looked dangerous on the left for Palace.
RF: Michael Olise – 9/10 – Showed wonderfully quick feet to ward off the attention of Casemiro before striking in. Fierce long-range shots were another example of his ever-growing attacking repertoire.
LF: Grace of the King – 7/10 – Was always keen to dribble against United’s less defensive players and usually had the upper hand.
ST: Jean-Philippe Mateta – 8/10 – Provided some nice moments of connection play and scored his team’s second goal with a great shot at the near post.
Substitute
Jairo Riedewald (68′ for Hughes) – 6/10
Odsonne Edouard (68′ for Mateta) – 7/10
Marc Guehi (78′ for Clyne) – 6/10
Jeffrey Schlupp (85′ for Eze) – N/A
Jordan Ayew (85th minute for Olise) – unavailable
Substitutes not used: Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, Joel Ward, Naouirou Ahamada, Remi Matthews.
Manager
Oliver Glasner – 9/10 – His team was better in all areas and could have scored more goals if they wanted to.
TW: Andre Onana – 4/10 – Had a few tricky moments that didn’t inspire confidence and was caught by Olise on the fourth goal.
RB: Diogo Dalot – 4/10 – He was often unaware of the threats around him and resorted to charging fouls.
CB: Casemiro – 1/10 – Jumped out of defense and made to pay when Olise struck. It seemed as if he had forgotten that he was playing as a centre-back. One of the worst performances of his career.
CB: Jonny Evans – 3/10 – A slightly lazy attempt to stop Mateta from scoring the second goal and after a month out he seemed noticeably not fit enough for the game.
LB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 3/10 – For the former Palace defender, returning to Selhurst Park was a nightmare as he watched Munoz and Olise rampage alongside him.
CM: Kobbie Mainoo – 5/10 – Some anxious moments on the ball, including one where he was saved by Onana.
CM: Christian Eriksen – 4/10 – Was asked to do a job but lacked the skills to stop Palace’s increasing attacks.
RW: Reason – 4/10 – Had United’s first shot on goal but couldn’t get into dangerous areas.
AM: Mason Mount – 5/10 – Since Mount was tasked with replacing Fernandes, he could do little more than contribute here and there.
Left: Alejandro Garnacho – 5/10 – Didn’t have the opportunity to attack Palace’s defense.
ST: Rasmus Hojlund – 5/10 – A familiar story for the striker. Had trouble getting into the game before running late.
Substitute
Sofyan Amrabat (60′ for Antony) – 4/10
Amad Diallo (80th minute for Hojlund) – N/A
Ethan Wheatley (80′ for Mount) – N/A
Substitutions not used: Altay Bayindir, Tom Heaton, Habeeb Ogunneye, Harry Amass, Louis Jackson, Toby Collyer.
Manager
Erik ten Haag – 0/10 – It doesn’t help that so many players are out, but then again it’s easy to recognize a performance when you see it at the end of the day.