Manchester United 1-2 Crystal Palace: 3 reasons why the Red Devils lost the match | Premier League 2019/2020

#3 Crystal Palace stuck to their tactical instructions

Manchester United v Crystal Palace - Premier League

Despite their struggles, Manchester United are still one of the biggest teams in the world, and Old Trafford is still a daunting place to visit.

There are only a handful of clubs who can go to the Theatre of Dreams with an intention to outplay United and win, but Crystal Palace's status as one of the lower clubs on the rungs means they are not of such clubs.

The Eagles realized as much, and sat back from kickoff, letting United have all the ball and at one point had less than 15% possession.

Their initial gameplan was to absorb the pressure and catch United on the counter, and this worked like a charm, as a long ball by goalkeeper Vincent Guaita totally bypassed Pogba and co in the middle and caught the United defence unaware.

Jordan Ayew showed great grit and determination to control the ball excellently and finish past David de Gea with ease.

Having gotten their first goal at Old Trafford in 30 years, the gameplan switched to defending their lead with their lives, and Crystal Palace did this excellently, with Luka Milivojevic and James McArthur offering excellent cover to their defence, while Jordan Ayew acted as the first line of defence.

Even after going behind so late in the game, Crystal Palace still reaped the rewards of their hard work all game, as they pressed Pogba into losing the ball and went ahead to get all three points.

Old Trafford has not been a happy hunting ground for Crystal Palace over the years, but Roy Hodgson developed a master gameplan to defeat Manchester United, and his players executed it to the letter.