Manchester United entertained Crystal Palace at Old Trafford earlier today hoping to kick off their Premier League campaign with a victory at home. The Red Devils made a sloppy start to the game and conceded an early goal when Andros Townsend found the back of the net in the seventh minute. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men struggled to come up with a response and went into the half-time break one goal down and with a mountain to climb in the second half.
The Selhurst-out outfit kept things tidy at the back and managed to add another goal via Wilfried Zaha’s penalty in the 74th minute. Just six minutes later Donny van de Beek gave Man United some hope with his clever finish which was extinguished when Zaha struck again in the 85th minute courtesy of a tidy strike from close range. The contest ended with the Red Devils suffering a dismal 3-1 loss at the Theatre of Dreams.
Let’s take a look at how each Man United player fared during the match against the Eagles.
GK: David De Gea – 5.5/10
The Spanish goalie made a brilliant stop to deny Jordan Ayew but ended up shipping in three goals throughout the 90 minutes which won’t please him.
RB: Timothy Fosu-Mensah – 5/10
The Man United right-back made a nervy start to the game and had a tough time when being asked to defend inside his half. He failed to contribute too much going forward in what turned out to be a tough evening for him.
CB: Victor Lindelof – 3/10
Lindelof had a nightmare game at the heart of Solskjaer’s defence as he was at fault for allowing at least two of the three goals that Palace managed to score today. He came nowhere close to stopping Zaha during the 90 minutes and is at risk of losing his first-team place soon unless he turns his career around for the better soon.
CB: Harry Maguire – 5/10
The English defender didn’t do much wrong in the game and was let down by his centre-back partner numerous times during the contest.
LB: Luke Shaw – 4.5/10
The ex-Southampton full-back completely lost track of Townsend in the lead-up to Palace’s opener in the seventh minute. He also struggled to create anything of note in the final third.
CM: Paul Pogba – 4/10
The French midfield ace lacked quality on the ball in what was a forgetful display from him today.
CM: Scott McTominay – 5/10
He worked hard at the centre of the park without orchestrating any meaningful chances in the opposition half. McTominay will be hoping for better days in the Premier League.
RM: Marcus Rashford – 4.5/10
The English attacker struggled to hit top gear and never looked like he had a goal in him.
CAM: Bruno Fernandes – 5/10
The Portuguese tried to get on the ball and cook up some decent chances to score for his teammates but lacked the cutting edge in the attacking third.
LM: Daniel James – 3.5/10
The Welsh winger looked like a shadow of his former self as he failed to cause too many problems for the Eagles during the game.
ST: Anthony Martial – 4/10
The French striker struggled to get himself involved in the game in what was a frustrating 90 minutes for him earlier today.
Substitutes:
RM: Mason Greenwood – 5/10
The promising youngster missed a glorious chance to score the equaliser when Man United were one-nil down.
CM: Donny van de Beek – 7.5/10
The ex-Ajax midfielder came off the bench to get a goal back for his team with a cheeky finish from close range.
ST: Odion Ighalo – 4/10
The Nigerian striker didn’t add much to the game.
