Laurens: Man Utd’s improvised defensive can’t be happy with this (1:43)
Hiring a Senior Writer: Tom Hamilton
Tuesday, May 6, 2024 at 11:42 PM
London, United Kingdom — Manchester United are plunging into their worst Premier League season ever. Crystal Palace’s 4-0 thrashing of Erik ten Hag’s squad at Selhurst Park on Monday contributed to their downward spiral.
The hosts took advantage of their opponents, who were dealing with injuries, by dismantling their new combinations and, at times, toying with them like a cat with a thread. Their amazing offensive ruthlessness was led by their outstanding three up top of Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, and Jean-Philippe Mateta, and they easily beat Ten Hag’s struggling team.
Prior to United’s journey to South London, Ten Hag had an already extensive injury list to contend with; the absences of Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire, and Scott McTominay were further added to it. In an effort to cover up the deficiencies, Ten Hag deployed Casemiro and Jonny Evans as the fourteenth different center-back combination this season due to their unavailability.
Evans and Casemiro, on the other hand, were bewildered and utterly unable to compete with their assured and imaginative rivals. While Olise scored twice (their first and fourth goals) and had more opportunities, Mateta had a spectacular first-half goal and Tyrick Mitchell added a second-half goal.
When looking at Manchester United, the post-mortem will be quite harsh. Referee Jarred Gillet’s “Ref-Cam” would serve as a fun substitute for the Blair Witch Project if they ever see archived film of it. Their complete surrender makes it hard to identify a specific moment of failure. Even the very seasoned Casemiro had a terrible match. After being caught slipping for the first two goals, he was totally out of his depth for Olise’s goal, which put Palace ahead.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, United’s new minority owner, may take swift action at the conclusion of the season in response to his troubles, which seemed like a fleeting moment. Surely this was the lowest point in a disastrous campaign. Ten Hag’s future with the club has been in doubt for some time due to the lack of support from the new bosses. Despite the fact that they still had the FA Cup final to look forward to, this was a harsh reminder of reality.
United set a new unsavoury club record with their 13th Premier League loss of the season, breaking the previous mark of 12 set in 2013–14 and 2021–22. This loss keeps them in eighth place, which is their lowest Premier League finish ever, after a weekend in which both Chelsea and Newcastle United won handily. Palace had previously won the league double against Manchester United in September with a 1-0 victory in the away game, but this was their first league double overall. The eagles are taking flight.
“So far, this was the fourth defeat in 2024,” Ten Hag said after the match. “You have always seen a team that was following a script, we had a lot of wins and were hard to beat, and today we weren’t hard to beat,” Ten Hag stated after the game.
They ought to have performed better; this is the most devastating loss. There were major errors; we deviated from the plan, script, and our current course of action. It was a disappointing loss because, although we are human, we failed to cover one another.
However, United’s biggest concern? There ought to have been more weight to this loss. In the 12th minute, Olise scored a spectacular first goal by skillfully evading a careless Casemiro, cutting through the middle of United’s defenders, and finishing off a pass from André Onana.
As United became entangled in a midfield scramble and lost possession of the ball via Casemiro in the 40th minute, they scored a fantastic second.
The 4-0 loss against Crystal Palace was summed up by Manchester United captain Casemiro’s ineffective play in the middle of the pitch. It is
After United were caught off guard, Chris Richards skillfully found Mateta, who calmly dribbled past Evans and slammed the ball past a stranded Onana to break open their defence. Palace had more opportunities in the first half, the greatest of which may have been Olise’s in the 27th minute, when he snatched the ball from a hesitant Kobbie Mainoo and raced clear through on goal, but the ball became entangled with an extended Onana.
As they waited for Palace to come out, United came out early for the second half, seeming confused as they viewed the first half highlights on the stadium’s TV screen. Maybe a brawl would break out during Ten Hag’s halftime team speech. A comeback in the second half was, however, immediately put out of the question. After a fantastic one-two with Olise, Palace’s Eze missed the target, but they were rewarded with a third goal when Joachim Andersen outmuscled Diogo Dalot, setting up Mitchell with the opportunity to tap in.
The next two goals, by Olise and Palace, followed. Once again, Casemiro was in the wrong; this time, Daniel Muñoz intercepted him on the wing, and Olise, after a few touches, slotted the ball beyond Onana. In the 94th minute, they came close to scoring a fifth when Odsonne Édouard unleashed a spectacular shot that hit the right post of Onana. The historic stadium trembled as Palace secured their fourth victory in five games under manager Oliver Glasner, who began this revival in February, while spectators strained to cover their eyes.
United made two changes, resulting in Mason Mount starting a league match for the first time since October, while Palace made a single change from their previous runout. Among Palace’s substitutes, who featured club veterans like Marc Guehi and outfielders Sofyan Amrabat, Jordan Ayew, and Jeffrey Schlupp, the only player above the age of 21 was Amrabat.
On two occasions, United had a good chance to score. The Brazilian Casemiro had a goal disallowed in the first half for a questionable foul on Rasmus Højlund, who was trying to block a looping header from the Brazilian. The substitute center-back had a second-half goal disallowed for offside. However, their wastefulness was on full display in the final return, with just two efforts on goal. And United’s defence, which included both Casemiro and Evans, was ultimately ineffective. They were formless and unbalanced, with players rushing out of position, and no resistance whatsoever. After that, they were unable to discover any consistency or comprehension, and their bases crumbled.
There is a sense of anticipation and hope for Palace here. The midfield tandem of Adam Wharton and Will Hughes were outstanding, and the fact that Glasner substituted Édouard for another attacker in the second half to step up their offensive game despite already having a three-goal lead showed their intentions (and their bloodlust). They have a lot of fans for their amazing abilities, but they’ll have to fight off a lot of them this summer as they go in an exciting route.
However, before the knockout round begins, United must get themselves back up off the floor and figure out how to compete for a berth in Europe. They still have upcoming home games against Arsenal and Newcastle as well as an away match against Brighton & Hove Albion. However, they run the danger of having their worst Premier League season ever if they do not recover from their injury woes and regain their confidence. If this happens, the pressure on Ten Hag will be even greater.
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