Manchester United 1-2 Crystal Palace: 3 reasons why the Red Devils lost the match

Coming off the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux last time out, fans of Manchester United would have expected their side to get back to winning ways against a Crystal Palace side who have found Old Trafford a hellish place to visit over the years.

Indeed, the Eagles had been without a victory of goal at Old Trafford for over three decades, and this would have given Solksjaer's men extra confidence heading into the tie.

The home side begun the match quickly out of the blocks, and given their full-throttle start, anyone would have been forgiven for believing that the three points were wrapped in the bag.

However, against the run of play, Ghanaian international Jordan Ayew put the visitors ahead, and despite huffing and puffing for most of the match, United could simply not find a way past Crystal Palace.

A late and spectacular equalizer by Daniel James right at the end of regulation time gave fans inside the stadium a false sense of hope that they could go on to get the equalizer, but in scenes that were absolutely gutting to watch, Patrick Van Aanholt scored a very late winner deep into stoppage time to hand all three points to Crystal Palace and pile further misery on Solskjaer.

This was a match Manchester United were largely expected to win, and in this piece, we shall be highlighting three reasons why they fell to defeat against Crystal Palace.

#3 Poor individual performances from a host of Manchester United players

Manchester United have one of the highest wage bills in the Premier League, and given the disparity in quality between the players at Manchester United and Crystal Palace, it was rather shocking to see a number of Red Devils put up a no-show in the game.

Of the 11 who started the match, only Daniel James, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka can confidently state that they had a good performance while the rest of their teammates were disappointing, to say the least.

United's attack was blunt for most of the match, and other than teeing up Daniel James for the leveller, Anthony Martial did not make any other significant contribution.

Jesse Lingard was poor as usual, and the earlier he gets out of the starting lineup, the better for United, while Harry Maguire failed to track the run of Jordan Ayew in the build-up to Crystal Palace's opener.

Paul Pogba was decent for most of the match, but he fell a victim to his overconfidence on the ball when he was robbed in midfield, leaving United out of shape in the build-up to the winning goal, while David de Gea could have done better to keep out the shot.

Perhaps most jarringly, Marcus Rashford failed to make the most of a golden opportunity offered him from the spot, smashing against the post rather than draw United level. And, given the furore raised over making him the team's penalty taker, the England international disappointed.

# 2 Solksjaer's ineptitude from the bench

Heading into the game, Ole Gunner Solskjer had posted just three wins from United's last 14 games and after a honeymoon period prior to being handed the job on a permanent basis, it is safe to say that the Norwegian was starting to feel the heat.

The 46-year-old named an unchanged starting lineup from the team that drew with Wolves, but was forced into an early change when Luke Shaw pulled up with an injury.

Crystal Palace took the lead against the run of play in the 32nd minute, and given the lack of penetration by Manchester United, one would have expected their gaffer to have been more proactive from the bench.

Jesse Lingard was virtually non-existent through the middle for Manchester United, but rather shockingly, his manager waited until the 56th minute to haul him off.

Given that Crystal Palace seemed content to sit back and defend deeply, United needed someone with the technique and ability to pick out their defense with splitting passes. But, despite having the services of Juan Mata on the bench, Solksjaer opted against introducing him until the 85th minute.

A coach is usually the chief culprit when results go wrong for his side, and while United players did not exactly step up to the plate, their manager did not inspire either with his tactical decisions.

#3 Crystal Palace stuck to their tactical instructions

Manchester United v Crystal Palace - Premier League

Despite their struggles, Manchester United are still one of the biggest teams in the world, and Old Trafford is still a daunting place to visit.

There are only a handful of clubs who can go to the Theatre of Dreams with an intention to outplay United and win, but Crystal Palace's status as one of the lower clubs on the rungs means they are not of such clubs.

The Eagles realized as much, and sat back from kickoff, letting United have all the ball and at one point had less than 15% possession.

Their initial gameplan was to absorb the pressure and catch United on the counter, and this worked like a charm, as a long ball by goalkeeper Vincent Guaita totally bypassed Pogba and co in the middle and caught the United defence unaware.

Jordan Ayew showed great grit and determination to control the ball excellently and finish past David de Gea with ease.

Having gotten their first goal at Old Trafford in 30 years, the gameplan switched to defending their lead with their lives, and Crystal Palace did this excellently, with Luka Milivojevic and James McArthur offering excellent cover to their defence, while Jordan Ayew acted as the first line of defence.

Even after going behind so late in the game, Crystal Palace still reaped the rewards of their hard work all game, as they pressed Pogba into losing the ball and went ahead to get all three points.

Old Trafford has not been a happy hunting ground for Crystal Palace over the years, but Roy Hodgson developed a master gameplan to defeat Manchester United, and his players executed it to the letter.