MANCHESTER -- It was the football equivalent of a cry for help by Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim. By selecting defensive midfielder Kobbie Mainoo as a centre-forward in what resulted in a 2-0 home defeat against Crystal Palace, Amorim was making a desperate plea for somebody, somewhere, to end his team's goal-scoring nightmare.
United have now lost five of their last six Premier League home games, scoring just four goals in that sequence, and are, in terms of points, as close to the relegation zone as they are to the top four.