The manager of Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said his club didn’t deserve anything from their encounter with Crystal Palace on Saturday which ended against the predictions of most bookmakers.
Manchester United opened their Premier League campaign on Saturday against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford and they were expected to win based on the caliber of players in their ranks. To the dismay of most football pundits, Crystal Palace stunned the Premier League giants 1-3.
Though the Saturday’s match was Manchester United’s first Premier League encounter in the 2020-2021 season, Crystal Palace started their campaign a week before their illustrious visit to Old Trafford.
Roy Hodgson and his men hosted Southampton at Selhurst Park Stadium on September 12 and the Eagles started the season in flying colors by defeating the visitors 1-0. This means that it is 2 over 2 for the team so far.
While Manchester United which made it to three semi-finals – EFL Cup, FA Cup, and Europa League, last season were not expected to struggle with any club below the top 5 this season. Hence, it was a stunner that they had to lose to Crystal Palace that finished 14th on the league table last season.
“We didn’t deserve to get anything from the game,” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told Sky Sports after the match. “We started badly and slowly; we looked like a team early on in their preparation in pre-season.
“You could see that they came flying out of the traps. You could see the difference between their prep with four friendlies and this is their third game this season whereas this is only our first game. We had one friendly last week but I think it showed. We were way short.
“You could see the physicality here this evening. They were sharper than us, they were stronger than us and we’ve got to catch up quickly. We can’t wait to have a normal pre-season and our next game is already on Tuesday.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said ‘It’s hammered home’
Saturday’s match was an end to end battle but Crystal Palace’s defense was rock solid as they were able to checkmate most of the attacks from Manchester United.
From the 7th minute, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his men knew that they were in trouble because they were already a goal down so early into the encounter courtesy of Andros Townsend’s goal.
🚦 Another fast start.#CPFC | #MUNCRY pic.twitter.com/lm1lZ4uKO3
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) September 19, 2020
The match dragged on until the 74th minute when the captain of Crystal Palace for the match, Wilfried Zaha doubled their lead from the penalty spot. In the 80th minute, Manchester United’s new signing Donny van de Beek gave United hope for a comeback by scoring United’s only goal. Zaha stepped up and sealed Palace’s win in the 85th minute to make it 3-1.
🤫 The silencer. #CPFC | #MUNCRY pic.twitter.com/bGwfv0uhUO
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) September 19, 2020
“It’s hammered home that we need to improve,” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer added. “That’s not good enough against any team in the Premier League, so we’ll have to work hard.
“We’ve had players here not in the squad tonight for different reasons. The training group we had this morning had seven players on it plus we had a big bench, so they’ll be knocking on the door saying they want to play the next one. Let’s see.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his men will be in action on Tuesday, September 22, when they visit Luton Town for the third round of this season’s Carabao Cup. They will then visit Brighton four days later to play their second I p9ll in the Premier League titled. While Crystal Palace will wait until Saturday to play their third Premier League game at home against Everton.
