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After a frustrating draw away at Wolverhampton, Manchester United fell prey to yet another dismal result, this time at the Theatre of Dreams. Crystal Palace, who hadn't opened their scoring account in the Premier League this season, did not only that but also inflicted a defeat upon Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men.
The Eagles struck first with Jordan Ayew in the 32nd minute, heavily against the run of play. In the second half, Scott McTominay won a penalty for United. Marcus Rashford's spot-kick sent the keeper the wrong way but came back off the post.
Daniel James equalized for Manchester United in the 89th minute with a beautiful curler as Old Trafford braced for 'Fergie Time'. Confident of getting a winner with five minutes of added time, United were caught off guard again by a gritty Crystal Palace. Roy Hodgson's side broke through quickly as Patrick van Aanholt scored in the second minute of added time.
United have only managed to take four points from their opening three games as they move towards a tough round of fixtures in the upcoming weeks - against Southampton, Leicester City, West Ham United and Arsenal.
On that note, we look at the five major talking points from the game.
#5 Crystal Palace land the sucker punch, twice
Whether we call it a result of United's lethargic, complacent defense or Crystal Palace's grit throughout the game, or maybe a combination of both, the goals that were put away by the away side were not on the table to be scored.
A harmless long ball from Vicente Guaita should never have been a problem for Victor Lindelof. But surprisingly, he lost the aerial against Schlupp, and even more surprisingly, Jordan Ayew trotted ahead completely unmarked. United were hit heavily against the run of play.
Finally, when they equalized and were threatening to go for the winner, it happened again. Paul Pogba lost possession against Christian Benteke as Wilfried Zaha broke off. Patrick van Aanholt smashed the ball against David de Gea, a shot that should have been saved but wasn't, as United had the wind taken out of their sails.
Crystal Palace's fighting mentality has to be appreciated but United's carelessness, despite having the momentum and a vibrant crowd behind them, is highly questionable.
#4 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tactics
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has stuck with a 4-2-3-1 system throughout preseason and the Premier League season, but he fails to figure out a way to bypass teams with a low block, who swarm the box during defensive phases.
No one was expecting Crystal Palace to try and be the braver side and go for the kill. In such a situation, a 4-2-3-1 which necessarily facilitates the take down of teams with a high line on the counter is worthless.
A change in formation, with a more advanced role for Scott McTominay and especially Paul Pogba - who can make things happen in the final third - might have been helpful in this case, and way more logical.
The formation and starting XI is secondary but the bizarre substitutions are out of question. Jesse Lingard was virtually non-existent in the first half and his starting spot and 10 worthless minutes in the second half are peculiar.
Solskjaer also took 84 minutes to bring on Juan Mata, who might as well have been introduced a good 20 minutes earlier. Instead, an experienced Mata was on the bench while Mason Greenwood was the one who replaced Lingard.
#3 United need to find a #10
Jesse Lingard, to say the least, he has not been inspiring the team with his displays as of late. He cannot continue to start games for Manchester United in this vein of form.
A number 10 is expected to be the creative outlet for attacks and yet, Lingard managed only 30 touches in the whole game, coupled with no shot attempts and dribbles, and only 15 accurate passes in a game where his team enjoyed over 70% possession.
While Lingard was underwhelming, young Mason Greenwood's precise pass through the Palace defense to Martial in the box brought about a penalty for United.
Who should then, be the 10?
Juan Mata is a choice - a creative player himself and a valuable asset from direct free-kicks. Mason Greenwood - not very good yesterday but excusable given the situation that the 17-year-old was facing - could be another choice.
He had an amazing pre-season to argue his case. The choice that a lot of people have been wanting Solskjaer to exercise is Paul Pogba. He is a player who could pose an unreal threat for oppositions on the ball, which he did even yesterday (100 touches, 2 key passes, 4 shots attempted), but his deeper role takes the tiny bit of freedom away.
Lingard might not be holding the starting spot for long and in that case, one of these three is the next-best choice.
#2 United weak on two very important fronts - at the back and in the final third
Harry Maguire's addition was supposed to make United's back line a formidable one. Take yesterday's first goal, it was too easy for Schlupp to beat Lindelof in the air, with both Wan-Bissaka and Maguire terribly caught out of position. Maguire especially, must have no excuses for not tracking back when one CB was out of position himself.
The second goal was also a loose one to concede. Crystal Palace were just allowed to break by United's defense without much of an effort. Zaha rammed through Wan-Bissaka and the loose ball was left uncleared, which fell to a certain van Aanholt.
Besides the goal, it proved to be too easy for Zaha and Ayew to get through the line, and it most certainly could have been 2-0 before half-time for Crystal Palace.
In the final third, it was evident from stats. 22 shots and just three on target; the only time United got a fair opening through the defense was Daniel James' goal and when McTominay sailed through the defenders before being pulled down.
There was no linkup play on display for the majority of the time and it was just set-piece/cross bombardment by United.
#1 Set-piece woes, shocking individual errors, and.....Daniel James
The number of individual errors is too much. Victor Lindelof losing the aerial, Maguire failing to track back, Wan-Bissaka letting Zaha cut into the box and nobody picking the loose ball or van Aanholt up, Pogba losing possession at an important moment, Rashford's failure to convert the spot-kick, de Gea's failure to stop the shot - every minute error acted as a catalyst for Manchester's loss.
Set pieces. Almost all set pieces were aimed deeper into the far post - way too predictable. Harry Maguire was the target from most free-kicks and nothing came off the eight corners that United won. Rashford blazed his two direct free-kicks without any threat to goal.
If United have one positive to take, it has to be Daniel James' performance. He scored a wonderful curling goal to pull things level for United and was good down the wing in the second half, both on the ball and off it.
If not for the goal and his movement, he deserves praise for his appetite and composure. James is slowly installing the 'end product' that people demand from him.
