Manchester United’s season reached a new low on Monday after being thrashed 4-0 by Crystal Palace in the Premier League, a result which heaped more pressure on a club in crisis.
The scoreline could have been more emphatic had United’s opponent been more clinical, but the defeat was still United’s heaviest in a poor season.
The 20-time league champion now sits eighth in the table – United has never finished below seventh in the Premier League era. The Reds have also now conceded 81 goals in all competitions this season, which Opta says is the club’s most in a single season since the 1976-77 campaign.
“As Manchester United, we should perform better. The players who were available should do better,” United boss Erik ten Hag told reporters after a record 13th league loss of the season.
“It’s a deserved defeat. The performance wasn’t what we expected.”
It’s the latest dire chapter for a team which has struggled for consistency this season.
For years under Alex Ferguson, the club was a giant of domestic and European soccer, dominating teams and winning countless major trophies.
But since Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 United has struggled to reach such heights, and the current manager is one of many managerial appointments in the post-Ferguson era to struggle. He is very much under pressure – a threat intensified by changes in the club’s ownership this season.
Former Liverpool player and pundit Jamie Carragher provided a scathing assessment, calling United “one of the most poorly coached teams in the Premier League.”
“That’s a fact,” he said on Sky Sports. “The numbers tell you that. Bottom of the league defensively.”
Injury crisis
After the loss, Ten Hag pointed to the injury crisis at the club as one reason for the poor performance.
Despite spending millions on new players in recent seasons, United was short of first-choice defenders and was forced to play midfielder Casemiro in a make-shift back line.
The 32-year-old, considered one the best players in the world during his time at Real Madrid, looked painfully vulnerable and totally exposed against Palace’s energetic forwards.
The look of dejection on his face after the match was shared by many of his teammates, further affirmation that an overhaul of the squad is needed this summer.
The visiting United fans continued to try to motivate the team and many stayed in the stands after the final whistle to sing chants and applaud the players.
“It is clear and it is obvious, this is underperforming,” Ten Hag added.
“We didn’t act how we want to do it and it’s by far not good enough. We are very disappointed, but the fans were always behind us and we keep fighting, like the fans did.
“I was really grateful. They back us. They see also we have our problems. You have to stick together. You have to take responsibility. The fans gave us such huge and tremendous support.”
The club has three league games remaining to climb the table and secure a place in next season’s Europa League or Europa Conference. Chelsea, in seventh, currently occupies the final European qualification spot.
Its next game comes against title-challengers Arsenal on Sunday.
United is also facing the daunting prospect of playing local rival Manchester City in the FA Cup final on May 25. A victory in that match at Wembley, though unlikely on current form, could also secure European football next season.
Source: CNN
BDST: 1115 HRS, MAY 08, 2024
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