Manchester United suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace in their crucial Premier League encounter. This now means that the Red Devils are eighth in the table and as it stands could miss out on European football. Although they could qualify for the Europa League with a win in the FA Cup, their form does not prove to be promising to get the better of a Manchester City team who have not lost a game in regulation time since December.
The club’s injury crisis carried on to this game as they missed key players like Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes against Palace. In their absence, the team looked on the back foot right from the very get-go. Michael Olise was running riot down the right wing and there was nothing the Red Devils could do to stop him as he was high on confidence after the stellar first goal he scored on the evening. Mateta and Tyrick Mitchell were the other goal scorers for Palace in this game at Selhurst Park.
Casemiro had one of the worst performances in his football career as he had parts to play in United conceding at least two goals if not more on the night. He was tasked with playing as the centre-back for the game due to United’s long injury list, but the Brazilian never looked comfortable alongside Jonny Evans in the backline.
Manchester United now have three more games in the league, which they need to win if they want to get to Europe through the PL. However, their opponents for those fixtures are Arsenal, Newcastle and Brighton. The Red Devils have lost all their previous league game against these opponents, making the remaining matchups a tough one for them.
Erik Ten Hag’s job at Manchester United could be at risk
Erik Ten Hag has been in the headlines this week after he gave an interview with former Red Devils player Gary Neville. The Dutch coach made some comments about the club’s failures this season and attributed them to the long list of injuries that he has had. United have had over 60 cases of injuries this season and this has led to Ten Hag putting out different lineups almost every match.
However, as a club Manchester United are always expected to play good football and in recent weeks that has not been visible. They have won just once in eight games and have conceded 22 goals in the last 10 games. Injuries do play a role in the team losing their momentum, but United have seemed to lose their identity under Ten Hag over the past few games.
The thrashing at the hands of Crystal Palace is expected to have a lot of impact on the team as their next three PL fixtures are all against quality opponents. If the team fail to get back into form, they might lose their European spot as Chelsea are playing great football and currently occupies the seventh position. If they miss out on European qualifications through the league, the team will have to win the FA Cup. Failure to make Europe might prove to be fatal for Erik Ten Hag’s chances of continuing as the Manchester United boss.
