It was a shambolic and utterly disappointing first-half from Manchester United. We looked so rusty and there was no fluidity or link-up among the players at all. We experienced some criminally loose passing, giving away the ball far too easily and we wasted far too many opportunities. The second half was just as disappointing until Van de Beek came on. His debut goal gave United fans some respite. Victor Lindelof particularly must be under fire after today’s game. All in all, it was not the ideal start for Manchester United. It’s a wake-up call to get reinforcements, ASAP!
David de Gea – 7
David de Gea made a nervous start to the game giving the ball away straight to a Palace player. But he atoned for his mistake through a wonderful save from a powerful shot from Ayew. He had a fairly decent game but couldn’t do much about any of the goals. Our defenders constantly let him down. His made his first penalty save in the last 4 years. But he was adjudged to have moved off the line and Zaha made no mistake from the spot.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah – 5 (off at 81′)
Fosu-Mensah looked like one of the better players going forward but was constantly caught out in defence. It raised a few eyebrows on Solskjaer’s decision to field him rather than Wan-Bissaka. He was putting in a few good crosses but was scrappy defensively. One of his crosses particularly should’ve been an assist if only Greenwood could’ve buried his header.
Victor Lindelof – 1
It was an absolutely disastrous performance from the Swedish defender. In fact, he was at fault for all 3 Palace goals. Lindelof looked shaky and it’s safe to say he was fortunate to have De Gea behind his back. His header back to the keeper caused a moment of panic as De Gea had to come out of his box and scamper the ball away from Zaha. He couldn’t stop the cross for the first goal, gave away a penalty through an unfortunate handball, and was sent straight to the bins by Zaha for the third one. It was a game to forget for the CB and a wake-up call for everyone to call out for reinforcements.
Harry Maguire – 6
Maguire had a decent game and did an okay job. He played his part but was caught out a few times in the first half. He was a bit loose in his passing early on. Maybe we need our captain to be a bit more vocal.
Luke Shaw – 6
Luke Shaw’s performance could be assessed as not too bad, but not too good either. He was making runs from the left flank, creating space for Rashford to exploit, but the pair simply couldn’t threaten the Palace defence. I would like to see Shaw being more direct though and putting in crosses from the flank as well.
Scott McTominay – 7
McTominay was one of the better players for me today and played his part well. His energy and ball-winning ability helped us stop Palace from breaking away. He was looking good in the opposition half as well. But he simply doesn’t have Matic’s calm and poise at the moment
Paul Pogba – 5 (off at 67′)
Pogba was threading in a few good balls. But then losing the ball very cheaply at the same time. It was an off-game for the Frenchman as he couldn’t really affect the game. We want to see more of the better side of Pogba and hopefully, he’ll be getting back to his best soon.
Bruno Fernandes – 5
Our talismanic Portuguese had a rare off-game. It was a categorically ineffective performance for a player who has completely transformed this side. I hope this was just one-off game for our Magnifico as we need him creating those deciding chances.
Daniel James – 4 (off at 46′)
Dan James has been constantly played on the RW, even though he evidently performs better when played on the left-hand side. He struggled to make an impact on the game and couldn’t use his pace to exploit the Palace defence in any way. He just drifts out wide and can’t get into the game much when playing on the right flank.
Marcus Rashford – 4
I could almost say I actually never saw Rashford on my screen. He struggled to get into the game and do anything meaningful with the ball. A disappointing game for the LW.
Anthony Martial – 5
Martial couldn’t provide that spark that he has been so often for us. It was not one of the best showings of the Frenchman as he couldn’t make an impact on the game.
Substitutes
Mason Greenwood – 4 (on at 46′)
When Greenwood came on for Dan James, United fans were exuberant as they expected their mercurial youngster to produce a moment of magic and drag Manchester United out of this difficult decision. He had the very opportunity to do so when Fosu-Mensah put in a brilliant cross across the box for him but Greenwood couldn’t bury his header. Apart from that moment, there was nothing much from the Englishman.
Donny van de Beek – 9 (on at 67′)
Van de Beek’s debut goal was probably the only moment for United fans to relish in what was an abysmal performance. As soon as he came on, he started stringing passes together and made us look briefly bearable. A neat finish from him, but sadly it turned out to be a mere consolation goal.
Odion Ighalo – 6 (on at 81′)
Simply couldn’t see much from him.
