Premier League 2019-20: 3 things we learnt from Manchester United's shock defeat to Crystal Palace

Manchester United were hoping to bounce back against Crystal Palace after their disappointing draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers last time around.

As expected, the Red Devils started the game with great intensity and enjoyed most of the possession in the first 30 minutes of the game.

However, the Eagles managed to score against the run of play when Jeffrey Schlupp overpowered Victor Lindelof in the air to win the ball, leaving Jordan Ayew one-on-one with David de Gea.

The 27-year-old made no mistake and buried the ball past the United shot-stopper with a calm finish. The dynamics of the game changed after the goal, as Palace had then committed about eight bodies behind the ball.

In the second half, Manchester United looked a much-improved side and started to create more goal-scoring opportunities. All their pressure paid off when Scott McTominay won a penalty for his side. After all the controversy surrounding Paul Pogba on spot-kick duties last week, it was Marcus Rashford who stepped up to take the penalty this time around.

However, the 21-year-old failed to put the ball past Vicente Guaita, missing a glorious opportunity to equalize. The Red Devils did manage to get on level terms with Palace in the 89th minute through Daniel James' brilliant goal, but the visitors struck the final blow in added time through Patrick van Aanholt.

On that note, we list three things learnt from Manchester United's defeat against Crystal Palace.

#3 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer got his tactics wrong

Manchester United v Crystal Palace - Premier League

Solskjaer named an unchanged side from the draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Norwegian picked Daniel James and Jesse Lingard, two players who thrive in a counter-attacking system but fail when their team is tasked with breaking the opposition defense down. Not to mention, owing to the latter's horrendous run of form of late, he should have been restricted to the bench.

Players like Juan Mata and Andreas Pereira, who have the ability to break down defenses and control the tempo of proceedings, should have been given more minutes.

Moreover, starting Paul Pogba in a deeper role was perhaps, another mistake. The Frenchman was asked to pick out the runs of the forwards with his passes, however, with Crystal Palace sitting so deep in their box, he failed to influence the game from the number 6 role. Thus, he should have been deployed in Lingard's position.

#2 Another penalty miss costs Manchester United the game

After Pogba's penalty miss against Wolves, Marcus Rashford took responsibility against Palace. The outcome albeit, remained the same as the forward's effort cannoned of the post, much to the despair of the Old Trafford faithful.

Had the England international put ball past Guaita, United would have established a stronger grip on proceedings and probably sealed the game by the end of 90 minutes.

#1 United lack game-changers on the bench

Mason Greenwood struggled to make a mark since coming off the bench

Over the years, Manchester United have always possessed a strong bench strength, studded with match-winners capable of coming off and influencing results.

However, if one looks at the bench now, Solskjaer has no player who he can turn to, to change the game within minutes.

The Red Devils are seriously lacking depth in the attacking department and are heavily relying on academy prospects such as 17-year-old Mason Greenwood to come good.

They also failed to replace Romelu Lukaku and Ander Herrera in the summer transfer window, which is going to hurt them dearly as the season wears on.