Five Things From Palace @ United

Midfield issues haunt United again

Same setup, same struggles. The double pivot of Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba proved yet again that against deep blocks ready and willing to soak up as much opposition possession as possible, they are incapable as a duo of creating the necessary chances and keeping productive possession. It’s simply the wrong personnel in a game where the opposition’s one goal is to sit as deep as possible, denying any runs in behind and thus ruining Manchester United’s one game plan. And when that counter attacking style of play is stuttered as will so often be the case when smaller sides visit Old Trafford? There is no plan B. Time after time, McTominay would drop back to form a back 3 with Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof(more on him later), and Pogba would effectively become the only central midfielder. Time and time again, the ball would swing from Luke Shaw, to Maguire, to Lindelof, to Aaron Wan-Bissaka. He’d look up, see Dan James hugging the touchline, play it to him, and receive it back. Then, it would swing all the way back to Shaw. Meanwhile, Pogba was rotating from left to right, practically begging to be given some freedom to pick up the ball and do something. 72% possession and only 3 shots on target to show for it tells the whole sorry story for the Reds.

The Eagles give Palace fans something to cheer for

Defeat the previous weekend to newly-promoted Sheffield United left Palace supporters reeling, but they finally saw their side pick up 3 points, as well as finally witnessing Crystal Palace beat United at Old Trafford in the Premier League era. Palace rode their luck at times, but their game plan was spot on and will surely be replicated by most teams that travel to Manchester. On a different day, VAR doesn’t favor them as highly, but Crystal Palace fully deserved at least a point, and their die hard supporters must be encouraged by some great performances from the likes of Jeffrey Schlupp and the match winner, Patrick Van Aanholt. More passionate performances like this one and maybe the Eagles will manage to survive yet again.

VAR makes the headlines again

Manchester United should never need help from officials to beat such a poor Palace side at Old Trafford, but it is impossible not to question the system after Saturday. Anthony Martial was clearly through on goal before being hacked down by the last man Gary Cahill right outside the penalty are, yet Paul Tierney only handed the former Chelsea man a yellow card. VAR was never even brought into question. Martial later would brilliantly turn Martin Kelly to again put himself into a promising position to score, but was again dragged to the ground. Another stonewall penalty, another incident where VAR was never even brought into play. Dan James would later be tripped outside the penalty area, and instead of earning his side a freekick, he was accused of diving and booked for it. The youngster is now gaining an unfair reputation amongst officials, all because VAR has not been perfected. In fact, it’s not even close.

Lindelof running out of chances

This is Victor Lindelof’s third season at the club, and although his first two seasons at the club were anything but convincing, the Swede’s first game against Chelsea partnered up with Maguire had some United fans hopeful we finally had a formidable partnership in the back since Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. However, he was poor at Molineux on Monday, and his performance Saturday was nothing short of horrific. He was bullied in the air by Schlupp for Palace’s opener, a player considerably shorter than him, and his game only got worse from there. Every Palace attack came down United’s right side, and although Wan-Bissaka didn’t have the greatest game against his old side, he wasn’t helped in the slightest by Lindelof. Axel Tuanzebe has already displaced Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, and Marcos Rojo in the pecking order. Surely it's only a matter of time that Lindelof is the next casualty. He’s certainly running out of chances.

Ole’s limitations on full display

Even Solskjaer’s biggest supporters will be unable to defend him after Saturday’s performance. As mentioned previously, his midfield scheme has been found out by opposition managers in 3 games. Frank Lampard must wake up in cold sweats at the thought of how naïve his team was in the opening game because it’s becoming increasingly obvious that any team that sits back immediately stifles United’s attack. Many will come to Solskjaer’s defense and claim he doesn’t have the players to fully execute his philosophy. Admittedly, I was guilty of this as well when Jose Mourinho was still at the helm. However, look at teams like Leicester City, Bournemouth, and Wolves. These are sides with personnel arguably worse than United’s, but the play is fluid. They are capable of sitting deep and counter-attacking, playing fluid, beautiful football, and even just setting up shop and holding for a result. Solskjaer himself looks lost on the bench when his Plan A goes out the window. He needs to improve just as much as his players do, otherwise, United are set for a season even worse than that ill-fated 2014 campaign under David Moyes. Solskjaer’s fate will match the Scotsman’s as well.