From an unbeaten run to three losses in a row has changed the outlook a little among the fan base but this was always going to be a season of ups and downs and so it is proving.
DATE
4th December 2021
RESULT
Manchester United 1-0 Crystal Palace
VENUE
Old Trafford, Sir Matt Busby Way, Stretford, Manchester M16 0RA
OFFICIALS
Referee: Craig Pawson. Assistants: Lee Betts, Scott Ledger. Fourth official: Jonathan Moss. VAR: Simon Hooper. Assistant VAR: Derek Eaton
DISCIPLINE
BOOKINGS – Nathaniel Clyne (31), Marc Guehi (67), Scott McTominay (81), Victor Lindelof (90+1)
RED CARD – none
GOALS
Fred (77)
ASSISTS
Mason Greenwood (77)
TEB VERDICT
A disappointing first half performance was put to one side as the Eagles battled back in the second forty-five and can consider themselves unlucky not to have returned from Old Trafford empty handed. However, once again they were guilty of missing important chances which has been a similar story during this run off losses which is no coincidence Patrick Vieira has not had James McArthur or Joachim Andersen to call upon. That has clearly been the test for the Frenchman in making the right personnel decisions that can play the way he wants them to.
This is a crucial period of fixtures that the Eagles are heading into off the back of these three consecutive defeats when you look at how the bottom half of the Premier League is shaping up at this stage of the season.
PLAYER RATINGS
1 Vicente Guaita (6), 17 Nathaniel Clyne (6), 5 James Tomkins (7), 6 Marc Guehi (6), 3 Tyrick Mitchell (7), 23 Conor Gallagher (7), 8 Cheikhou Kouyate (7), 15 Jeffrey Schlupp (6), 11 Wilfried Zaha (7), 9 Jordan Ayew (6), 20 Christian Benteke (6)
SUBSTITUTES – 1 Jack Butland, 4 Luka Milivojevic, 7 Michael Olise (6 – replaced Ayew on 84 mins), 10 Eberechi Eze (6 – replaced Kouyate on 84 mins), 12 Will Hughes, 14 Jean-Phillipe Mateta, 22 Odsonne Edouard (6 – replaced Benteke on 67 mins), 34 Martin Kelly, 44 Jairo Riedewald
OPPOSITION LINE-UP
1 de Gea, 20 Dalot, 2 Lindelof, 5 Maguire, 27 Telles, 39 McTominay, 17 Fred, 25 Sancho, 18 Bruno Fernandes, 10 Rashford, 7 Cristiano Ronaldo
SUBSTITUTES – 3 Bailly, 4 Jones, 8 Mata, 11 Greenwood (replaced Sancho on 62 mins), 26 Henderson, 29 Wan Bissaka, 31 Matic, 34 van de Beek (x – replaced Fernandes on 86 mins), 36 Elanga (x – replaced Rashford on 76 mins)
POST GAME QUOTES
PATRICK VIEIRA – “I’m disappointed, we gave them a tough game, we made it really difficult for them. At the end, conceding the goal we are so disappointed. And we had the chance before, it is frustrating. Coming to a place like this we knew it would be difficult and we would have to work together. And when you get opportunities you have to take them and when you don’t take them you are left vulnerable. I am disappointed for Jordan as he had a fantastic game. That is football. We need to change our mindset. How can we be more ruthless when we’re in the opposition’s box? That’s something we have to work on. We didn’t know what to expect from United. We were only concerned with ourselves. As a team, we defended quite well. But again, I’m really disappointed with that goal.”
RALH RANGNICK – “I am very happy with the way the team performed, especially the first half hour, with the pressing, it was exceptional. The only thing missing was the 1-0 or 2-0. The way we defended, we had control of the game, the clean sheet was the most important part. These are the things we must improve. We need to keep clean sheets. With just the one training session, I was really impressed. We did much better than expected.”
MATCH STATISTICS
The Who Scored man of the match was Fred (8.5) while Cristiano Ronaldo (5) had the most shots. The most tackles were made by Alex Telles and Fred (7) as the most dribbles were by Wilfried Zaha (3)
- Team rating: 6.95 – 6.48
- Total shots: 16 – 8
- Shots on target: 3 – 2
- Possession: 61.3% – 38.7%
- Pass success: 82% – 71%
- Passes: 14 – 12
- Dribbles: 5 – 6
- Aerials won: 17 – 21
- Tackles: 24 – 23
- Fouls: 16 – 9
- Corners: 9 – 6
- Saves: 2 – 2
- Dispossessed: 14 – 20
POSITION IN THE TABLE
Palace are 13th in the Premier League with 16 points from 15 games, level with Leeds United in 14th and a point behind Brentford in 12th.
UPCOMING FIXTURES
12/12/21 Everton (h) – Premier League (4.30pm)
15/12/21 Southampton (h) – Premier League (7.30pm)
18/12/21 Watford (a) – Premier League (3pm)
