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Manchester United welcomed Crystal Palace to Old Trafford on Saturday in their third game of the new season. After a resounding 4-0 win over Chelsea at home in the opening weekend, the Red Devils could only manage a 1-1 draw away at the Molineux. With United back at Old Trafford, the game represented a chance to bounce back to winning ways. For the players though, there was some extra motivation.
Paul Pogba's failure to convert a penalty had caused quite a stir. The Frenchman was subject to racial abuse online but was backed by both the club and his colleagues, who protected him as a family. As such, it was time for the team to show that unity on the field.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was pretty impressed by United's second-half performance against Wolves and the Norwegian decided to go with the same team against Crystal Palace. He started with David De Gea, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, and Luke Shaw continuing as the back four. In the midfield, Scott McTominay was stationed alongside Paul Pogba, while Jesse Lingard was chosen as the no. 10. The front three consisted of Daniel James, Anthony Martial, and Marcus Rashford.
United were in control in the first half, but it was Crystal Palace who took the lead in the 32nd minute through Jordan Ayew. United rallied but failed to score in the first half. After the break, Palace held on and United even failed to convert a penalty. However, the home side equalized through Daniel James in the 89th minute. Crystal Palace then went ahead in the 93rd minute through Patrick van Aanholt and ultimately won the game.
While the entire team failed to impress, these 5 men were very poor for United at Old Trafford and cost the Red Devils the game.
#5 David De Gea
It is hard to put David De Gea in this list, especially since there were quite a few other players who had been poor on the pitch. However, the Spaniard made an uncharacteristic mistake in the game that ultimately cost United a point.
However, after scoring a late equalizer, United pushed on for the winner and were eventually caught out at the back. After Wan-Bissaka had stopped Wilfried Zaha’s attempt, the ball fell to Patrick van Aanholt, whose shot crept in under David De Gea. The Spaniard should not have been beaten at the front post and it cost United their the game.
#4 Victor Lindelof
The Swede was culpable for the Palace goal, as he lost a header to Jeffrey Schlupp which Jordan Ayew latched on to. The Ghanaian made an anticipatory run and was rewarded when he broke through on goal in the 32nd minute. Lindelof could only watch as Ayew finished well and gave Crystal Palace the lead.
From then on, the Swede looked increasingly uncomfortable as the game wore on and was a shadow of the player who had been so impressive last season.
Lindelof appeared nervous every time Palace broke away in attack and struggled to come to terms with the physicality of Palace’s forwards. Even the presence of Harry Maguire failed to calm him down, as the Swede struggled to keep the ball running and failed to play his customary long balls from the back.
After James had scored, United were expected to pile the pressure on the opposition and go for the kill. However, Lindelof continued to be vulnerable at the back and was powerless to stop Crystal Palace from scoring the winning goal.
#3 Jesse Lingard
Like in the game against Wolves, Jesse Lingard started in the No. 10 role, but offered very little in attack. The Englishman was very good with his off the ball pressing and closed down the opposition efficiently in the first half.
However, when United had the ball, Jesse Lingard was characteristically ineffective. He appeared clueless in the final third, unable to decide what to do with the ball at his feet. As a result, United once again lacked the final ball and appeared toothless in attack.
The Englishman offers very little other than his pressing on the field, as was evident against Crystal Palace. His passing was also poor on the day and Lingard failed to utilize the speed and movement of the players ahead of him from a position of significance.
On the few occasions that United managed to break on the counter, Lingard’s indecisiveness allowed Palace to get back in time to fend off United's moves. The Englishman started the second half in a similar note, failing to have any impact. He was ultimately replaced by Mason Greenwood in the 56th minute.
#2 Anthony Martial
The Frenchman had enjoyed a fantastic start to the new season, scoring a goal in each of the two games in the league so far. Against Palace too, he was given the duty to lead the line for United, with Marcus Rashford and Daniel James alongside him.
However, Anthony Martial appeared isolated in the opening stages and saw very little of the ball. On the few occasions that he did have the ball, the Frenchman did nothing of significance with it.
Martial was regularly bullied by the opposition center backs and did win quite a few free-kicks in the first half. Gary Cahill probably should have seen a red card for a last man tackle on the Frenchman. However, Crystal Palace were lucky to finish the first-half with 11 men on the field. Martial, strangely, failed to muster a single shot on goal in the first half.
The Frenchman failed to improve after the break and had very little contribution to the game. Solskjaer had elected Martial as the man to lead the United attack this season, but against Crystal Palace, the Frenchman was very poor and cost United the game.
#1 Marcus Rashford
The Englishman started in his preferred left forward role and attracted a lot of attention from the opposition defense. Marcus Rashford seems to have built quite a reputation for himself because Crystal Palace were always wary whenever he had the ball.
The away side tried to deny him time and space in the final third but were also afraid to engage him one on one. Despite this, the Englishman saw plenty of the ball but did very little with it in the first half.
Rashford had opportunities in the first half but failed to hit the target. He attempted two free kicks, none of which ended anywhere near the opposition goal.
The Englishman was guilty of taking too much time on the ball and that gave Palace enough time to deal with him. Rashford continued to be poor in the second half but then had a chance at redemption when Scott McTominay won a penalty. Rashford stepped up, but his shot came off the upright, as United failed to draw level.
The Englishman was wasteful with the ball, absolutely ineffective in the final third and his performance cost United the game.
