Crystal Palace fell on the wrong side of two key decisions this evening as they lost to Manchester United, and were frustrated to fall to defeat despite a strong, markedly improved performance.
Summary
- Roy Hodgson makes two changes to his starting XI: bringing James McCarthy and Andros Townsend in for Cheikhou Kouyate and Christian Benteke respectively
- Palace begin the brightest, enjoying early efforts from Wilfried Zaha and Patrick van Aanholt
- United establish their foothold, and take a slim lead through Marcus Rashford at the end of the first-half after Zaha sees a penalty appeal overlooked
- Luka Milivojevic’s whipped free-kick is tipped wide by David de Gea
- Half-time: Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester United
- Palace’s equaliser early in the second-half is ruled out for offside by VAR
- The Eagles again start the brightest but, after the game settles to a more equal level, United add to their lead through Anthony Martial
- Van Aanholt leaves the pitch on a stretcher after falling awkwardly while defending Martial’s goal
- Jeffrey Schlupp features in his first match since December 2019, with Tyrick Mitchell and Jairo Riedewald also getting minutes
- Full-time: Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester United
Crystal Palace kicked-off as firm underdogs this evening, their recent loss of form starkly contrasting United’s storming return to competitive football.