Manchester Unitedβs miserable home form continued as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Crystal Palace, marking their fifth Premier League loss at Old Trafford in just six matches. Jean-Philippe Matetaβs second-half double secured a statement victory for Oliver Glasnerβs side, who have now triumphed four times at the Theatre of Dreams in their last six visits.
With Marcus Rashford edging closer to a move to Aston Villa, United boss Ruben Amorim made the bold call to leave Β£100m worth of attacking talentβRasmus HΓΈjlund and Joshua Zirkzeeβon the bench.
But rather, he opted for an unorthodox false nine system with Kobbie Mainoo leading the line. While the Red Devils started brightly, the tactical experiment ultimately fell flat, and Palace soon seized control.
Eberechi Eze, expected to miss the game through injury, emerged from the bench to deliver a pinpoint free-kick in the 64th minute. Maxence Lacroixβs header rattled the crossbar, and as Andre Onana scrambled to recover, Mateta was first to react, poking the ball into an empty net. The French forward then doubled his tally in stoppage time, calmly finishing Daniel MuΓ±ozβs low cross to seal Palaceβs third consecutive away winβtheir best run since 2019.
Adding to Unitedβs woes, Lisandro MartΓnez was stretchered off in tears after a nasty collision with IsmaΓ―la Sarr. Amorimβs side remain stuck in 13th place, still unable to string together consecutive league wins.
