Wilfried Zaha scored a brace as Crystal Palace defeated Manchester United 3-1 on Saturday (local time) in the Premier League 2020-21 season here at the Old Trafford Stadium.
Along with Zaha, Andros Townsend scored one goal for Crystal Palace while Donny van de Beek registered the lone goal for Manchester United.
In the match, Manchester United had 76 per cent of the ball possession as compared to 24 of Crystal Palace, still, the latter managed to win the match by creating more attacking opportunities.
The first goal of the match was registered by Andros Townsend in the seventh minute of the match. Tyrick Mitchell played an excellent ball to the left of Crystal Palace's Jeffrey Schlupp, who in return managed to have a low cross towards the goalpost, and in the end, Townsend capitalised on the opportunity to register the first goal.
No more goals were scored in the first half, and as a result, Crystal Palace went in with a 1-0 lead.
Crystal Palace was awarded a penalty in the 69th minute of the match as Lindelof's arm was found in an unnatural position. Ayew took a poor penalty and David de Gea was able to save the ball.
However, the penalty had to be retaken as De Gea was penalised for encroachment. Zaha came up to take the penalty this time and he did not do any mistakes, giving Crystal Palace a 2-0 lead in the 74th minute.
United got a glimmer of hope in the 80th minute as Donny van de Beek pegged one goal back for the side, bringing the scoreline 2-1 in favour of Crystal Palace.
The final goal for Crystal Palace came in the 85th minute as Zaha managed to fight off United's Lindelof to register the ball into the goalpost.
In the end, Palace went away with a 3-1 victory over the hosts' Manchester United.
Earlier, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said that their opponents have got "qualities at both ends of the pitch" and it is his "main concern".
"They've got qualities at both ends of the pitch and they've got players who can score. That's my main concern now," the club's official website quoted Solskjaer as saying.
Solskjaer also stressed that the club is focused on starting the league well.
"At the moment, our focus is to start the league well because no one is going to win the league in the first two months, but you lay the foundation for how the season is going to pan out," he said.
Now, Man Utd fans are disappointed with Ed Woodward and Glazers over the clubs defeat.
A Twitter user said, "United need a CB, they haven't signed one. Need a RW, they haven't signed one. Need a LB, they haven't signed one. Need a ST, they haven't signed one. 'Tough transfer climate' excuse isn't good enough when rivals spend freely and issues have been so obvious for so long #mufc"
"It's not about signings, or a lack of confidence, or tiredness, or the press. It's about a once mighty club crumbling before our very eyes; blood drained by an ownership structure that is rotten to the very core. Norwegian niceties or nostalgia won't change that. #MUFC #MUNCRY" said another user.
Check out some tweets here:
United will next lock horns with Brighton on Saturday, September 26 in the Premier League 2020-21 season while Crystal Palace will lock horns with Everton on the same day.
