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Andros Townsend speaks “Mentally we felt we had an advantage. We knew it was United’s first game and that maybe we could catch them cold if we started fast. We did that in the first five minutes and once we get ahead we’re a very well-drilled team. Wilf was incredible, what more do you want me to say? We’re very fortunate to have him.”
Full time: Man Utd 1-3 Crystal Palace
Peep peep! For the first time in their history, Palace have won the first two games of a top-flight season. It was a deserved win that could have been even more comfortable. Andros Townsend’s early goal was followed by two from Wilfried Zaha, either side of a debut goal by the United substitute Donny van de Beek. United were abysmal, particularly in defence, but Palace did an emphatic number on them.
90+4 min “I feel sorry for van de Beek,” says Niall Mullen. “He was my favourite one in Dawson’s Creek.”
90+3 min “Think you’re being a bit a bit harsh on the officials there Rob,” says Michael Keane. “Palace were disadvantaged by both Lindelof and then de Gea, and their actions which were against the rules. Marginal maybe, but I didn’t see any mention of either player getting a card, and it’s only right that the team that missed out should get the decisions in their favour. Rules is rules after all.”
I thought that was exactly what I said. I don’t think Martin Atkinson had much choice in either situation; I just don’t agree with the handball rule.
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90 min Six minutes of added time.
90 min Batshuayi blasts over from 25 yards. United’s defending has been desperate.
89 min This is the first league game United have lost since Bruno Fernandes joined in January. It’s been a desperate day for them, especially in the context of such a quiet transfer window.
88 min James McArthur/McCarthy, I’m not sure which, is replaced by Luka Milivojevic.
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87 min It’s been a chastening day for United but that shouldn’t overshadow a superb performance from Palace, who have been much the better team. This is no fluke - they have form for winning away at Big Six clubs, and they’ve done it again.
Mitchell, on the left, slid the ball into Zaha on the edge of the area. He resisted a wishy-washy tackle from Lindelof, moved infield and belted a low shot past de Gea with his right foot. The defending was poor; the finish was emphatic.
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GOAL! Man Utd 1-3 Palace (Zaha 85)
A brilliant goal from Wilfried Zaha seals a superb victory for Palace!
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83 min “Will the goalkeeper on the line be looked at each match?” asks Martin Lancon.
It will – it was one of the new directives for the season.
82 min McTominay has gone to right-back for United, who are now playing 4-4-2.
81 min A substitution apiece: Ighalo for Fosu-Mensah, Batshuayi for Ayew.
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It was a good finish from van de Beek. Fosu-Mensah’s nothing cross from the right was missed by Kouyate and hit the unsighted Ward. The ball deflected back towards goal and into the path of van de Beek, who sidefooted it calmly into the far corner.
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GOAL! Man Utd 1-2 Crystal Palace (van de Beek 80)
Donny van de Beek gives United hope with a debut goal!
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80 min Another poor pass from Maguire, who has had a bit of a shocker, allows Palace to break. Townsend flicks a terrific ball with the outside of the foot towards Zaha, who looks set to move through on goal until the last man McTominay makes a desperate sliding tackle. That probably saved a goal.
77 min This will be the first time Palace have ever won the first two games of a top-flight season - and the first time they’ve won consecutive matches at Old Trafford.
76 min Palace make a change: Eberichi Eze is on for Jeff Schlupp.
75 min You can understand why United are so angry - de Gea sarcastically applauded after the second goal - but I think both decisions were correct under the current laws. Obviously those laws are a total mess, but that’s a different argument.
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GOAL! Man Utd 0-2 Crystal Palace (Zaha 74 pen)
Zaha scores! de Gea got a hand on it but there was just enough elevation to beat him.
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74 min Zaha is going take it this time.
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THE PENALTY WILL BE RETAKEN!
72 min de Gea has been penalised for encroachment! “That is an absolute disgrace,” says Gary Neville. “We’re talking millimetres.”
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DE GEA SAVES THE PENALTY!
72 min It was a poor penalty from Ayew, and de Gea dived to his right to push it away.
72 min The law is a joke, but I don’t think Martin Atkinson had much choice but to give that.
PENALTY TO PALACE!
71 min “Not a chance,” says Gary Neville.
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70 min Lindelof’s arm was in an unnatural position and, though he was very close to Ayew, I think this will be given. Gary Neville is already fuming on Sky Sports.
70 min Martin Atkinson is coming across to look at the monitor!
69 min: And now a chance for Palace! They look so dangerous on the break. Ayew surges into the area and flicks a shot that hits Lindelof and loops through to de Gea. There’s a VAR check for handball against Lindelof, however - and I think this will be given.
68 min: Chance for United! Fernandes’s dipping corner is headed on by McTominay and volleyed over by Lindelof at the far post. It came at a slightly awkward height and he could only sidefoot it over the bar.
68 min van de Beek has gone into the No10 role, with Fernandes dropping deeper alongside McTominay.
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67 min Donny van de Beek comes on for his Manchester United debut. Paul Pogba has gone off.
66 min: Zaha has a goal disallowed for offside! It will be checked by VAR, which confirms the right decision was made. It stemmed from a dismal pass by Maguire. Palace broke and Zaha lifted the ball past de Gea, but he was offside.
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65 min Greenwood beats Mitchell with a stepover and drives a shot that is blocked by McCarthy.
64 min Maguire is booked for a lunge at Zaha.
62 min Zaha plays a lovely disguised pass to release Townsend on the right. He picks out a cross to Schlupp on the edge of the area, and his shot is blocked by McTominay.
60 min: Greenwood misses an excellent chance! United should be level. Fosu-Mensah curled a decent cross beyond the far post, where the unmarked Greenwood headed wide from eight yards.
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59 min United’s tempo has been so slow. It’s been easy for Palace’s two banks of four to shuffle from side to side.
58 min Fosu-Mensah is booked for a late tackle on Mitchell.
56 min United have been a mess today, with and without the ball.
55 min Maguire’s crossfield pass goes straight to Schlupp, who slides a pass down the inside-left channel to Zaha. He moves into the area but is well held up by McTominay and the attack peters out.
55 min Ward is booked for a foul on Greenwood.
54 min Schlupp goes on a brilliant run infield from the left and pulls the ball back to Townsend, who makes room for a shot that hits Pogba and deflects over the bar.
52 min Zaha cuts into the area from the left and hits a shot that is crucially blocked by Lindelof. Palace still look dangerous on the break, helped by the nervousness in United’s defence.
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51 min A tame long-range shot from Pogba is easily saved by the diving Guaita.
49 min Ayew receives a short pass from Townsend in the centre circle and surges away from Lindelof. Shaw gets back to cover and Ayew hits a shot from 20 yards that is comfortably saved by de Gea.
48 min Lots of possession for United at the start of the second half, though all of it has been in front of the Palace defence.
46 min Peep peep! United begin the second half.
United have made a half-time change: Mason Greenwood is on for Dan James, who looked bereft of confidence.
This will make United fans feel better
Reyna and Bellingham combine to put Dortmund ahead at the break 🐝#Bundesliga #BVBBMG pic.twitter.com/35Gp5NA307
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) September 19, 2020
“As Ayew was winding up for his shot,” says Mary Waltz, “I imagine nervous United fans were hitting the Hen..keys on their keyboard.”
No need to count their chickens before they’ve hatched.
Half-time reading
Half time: Man Utd 0-1 Crystal Palace
Peep peep! Palace lead deservedly through Andros Townsend’s early goal. They’ve kept a sluggish United at arm’s length without too much trouble and could have scored a second just before half-time.
45+1 min: Good save from de Gea! Jordan Ayew almost makes it 2-0. He ran at McTominay on the left side of the box, shuffled inside and smashed a rising shot from 10 yards that was tipped over by de Gea. That was a good reaction save.
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45 min Four minutes of added time.
45 min “Chivas - please drink responsibly” shout the advertising boards at Old Trafford. The players aren’t doing much to encourage responsible drinking among United supporters; they’ve been poor.
44 min Fernandes plays a good pass out to the left to Shaw, who is too slow to keep the ball in play. Jeez.
43 min “Hi Rob,” says Duncan Edwards. “United a goal down early at home, Luke Shaw dozing, Rashford on the deck, and a spate of typo-laden emails betraying an urge to mock. Ah yes, football is back!”
41 min: No penalty, just a free-kick. Fernandes’ clipped effort hits the head of Ward and goes behind for a corner.
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40 min There was a tangle of legs with Pogba but I’m not sure McCarthur knew much about it. A penalty would be very harsh. They are still checking it though.
39 min Fernandes is fouled on the edge of the D by Townsend. This is a chance for United. In fact there is now a VAR check for a possible foul on Pogba in the penalty area.
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38 min I suspect we’ll see Donny van de Beek or Mason Greenwood at the start of the second half. I’d probably bring them both on for James and Pogba, but I suspect it will just be James who is taken off.
37 min “As a Welshman, I obviously have a vested interest in Daniel James, and his situation is concerning,” says Matt Dony. “At Swansea, he did show that he can play a bit. There’s more to him than raw speed. But he hasn’t really progressed. A whole year at a club the size of United, he really should be showing something more. It’s hard to tell whether it’s down to the player or the coaching or (most likely) a bit of both, but I really hope he kicks on this season. Not for United’s sake, naturally.”
He started pretty well, too, but faded badly as the season went on. I think I’d have offered him to Leeds on loan this season.
36 min Fosu-Mensah’s cross is only half cleared to James, whose tame shot from 15 yards is blocked by McCarthy.
35 min Martial plays an excellent pass inside Ward to find Shaw, whose cross is woefully overhit. Palace are not dominating as they did in the first 15 minutes, but they are still pretty comfortable.
35 min “All Utd fans should relax,” says Paul Fitzgerald. “They’re just a trailing leg in the box and a hop and a skip from Fernandes away from getting back into the game.”
34 min Rashford’s shot from the edge of the area is blocked by Sakho. Most of United’s shots so far have been from 18-25 yards.
31 min McCarthy’s corner hits a United defender and falls to Schlupp, whose snapshot is blocked. At the other end Guaita comes a long way out of his area and slices a clearance straight up in the air. Ward heads the loose ball clear and elbows Rashford in the head in the process. No foul was given but there’s a break in play while Rashford is treated.
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30 min Zaha leads a Palace break and tries to run the last man Lindelof, who does well to stay with him and concede a corner.
29 min Palace’s defensive shape is as sound as ever, and United are struggling to create any clear chances.
27 min “Afternoon Rob,” says Stephen Carr. “I know he’s young and all that, but Daniel James definitely looks like he graduated from the Jesus Navas School of ‘If He Wasn’t Fast, He Wouldn’t Be a Pro’.”
I was very surprised he started today. His confidence looks shot; you’d be better off with van de Beek or Mata, never mind Greenwood.
26 min Fernandes wins the ball 25 yards from goal and hits a deflected shot that is comfortably saved by Guaita, falling to his right.
26 min “Less than 10 minutes into a new United season and I’ve already been told to watch my language by my lovely wife,” says Jake Shaffer. “It looks like it is gonna be a long season.”
For you as well.
25 min Townsend shoots over from the edge of the area. Palace look a threat on the break.
24 min McTominay overhits a simple pass to Martial, who would have been clear on the left side of the area.
22 min United are starting to wake up. Fernandes feeds a lovely pass into McTominay on the edge of the area. He looks up and curls a shot that takes a nick off a defender and drifts a few yards wide of the far post.
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20 min Rashford flicks a pass to Pogba on the edge of the box. He dummies to shoot, beats Schlupp and hits a good low shot that is well held to his right by Guaita.
20 min United are all over the show. Never mind 1-0; the way this is going, Palace have a big chance to get a second.
19 min “Maybe between this start and the past few weekends, United will nudge itself into an actual, meaningful transfer strategy,” says Ted Lee. “Generally, they seem to be like the person who walks past a car dealership, presses their nose the glass, fogs up the window, never goes inside, then tells everyone that night that he spent the day looking at Rolls-Royces.”
18 min Fernandes is okay.
17 min Palace are harassing United very effectively. Now Bruno Fernandes is down, which won’t improve Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s humour.
13 min United win their first corner. Nothing comes of it and McArthur punts the ball downfield. Lindelof’s header back to de Gea is a bit short, but Zaha pulls out of a 40/60 ball with the keeper 20 yards from goal. I’m not sure why Zaha did that - it didn’t look like he bottled it, more that he didn’t realise what a great opportunity it was.
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12 min After some nice one-touch passing, Townsend shoots well wide from 25 yards. “United aren’t being outfought - they’re being outplayed,” says Gary Neville on Sky.
11 min “I am reminded of the start of the 2006-07 season with Rashford-Martial as the new Ronaldo-Rooney,” says Digvijay Yadav. “Apathy abounding due to only one midfielder coming in the summer while their rivals all strengthened. Liverpool had also won a couple of trophies in the previous two years. I don’t know. I am just looking for something to clutch at.”
I don’t remember a single thing about that summer I’m afraid. Nope. (Also, they were 4-0 up after 20 minutes in the opening match of the season.)
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10 min It’s been a poor start from United, who look half asleep. Palace have been sharper.
Mitchell played a good ball down the left to Schlupp, who held off Lindelof too easily and drove a low cross towards the far post. Townsend arrived late, on the blind side of Shaw, and forced the ball past de Gea with his right foot!
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GOAL! Man Utd 0-1 Crystal Palace (Townsend 7)
Crystal Palace are doing it again!
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6 min De Gea plays an abysmal pass straight to McArthur, 25 yards from goal. He gets away with it because McArthur’s forward pass is blocked by Shaw, but that wasn’t great.
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5 min “Hi Rob,” says Alex Netherton. “Could we get someone else on for the game? This isn’t really your thing.”
You should read my chess MBMs.
4 min It’s been a leisurely opening to the game. United don’t make many fast starts, do they.
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2 min Townsend is fouled by McTominay on the right wing. He takes the free-kick himself and Shaw heads clear.
2 min “Crystal Palace’s away kit looks like it’s sponsored by Aquafresh,” says Tomasz Rykala.
It’s not great, is it. Their white kit last season was beautiful.
1 min Peep peep! Palace, in their white away strip, kick off from right to left.
The players emerge on a warm evening in Manchester. Let’s crack on.
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Goals goals goals “Hey Rob,” says JR in Illinois. “Do you happen to know what the record is for most goals scored in one gameweek since football was invented in 1992? We’re on 14 and not even through the second game yet!”
I think it’s 43 in February 2011, the weekend when Newcastle came from 4-0 down to draw with Arsenal. (Edit: that’s the record since the league was reduced to 20 teams. There were a whopping 53 goals in 11 matches on the last weekend of the 1992-93 season.)
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Leeds have beaten Fulham 4-3 in a thriller at Elland Road. They were 4-1 ahead but ended up hanging on. The early signs are that Leeds’ promotion is the best thing to happen to the Premier League in years.
Pre-match reading
A couple of surprises in the United team. Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Daniel James start on the right, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Mason Greenwood on the bench. Donny van de Beek is also among the subs, but Nemanja Matic isn’t even in the squad. And David de Gea is still United’s first-choice keeper.
Palace make one change from the team that beat Southampton last weekend: Mamadou Sakho replaces the injured Scott Dann at centre-back.
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Team news
Manchester United (4-2-3-1) de Gea; Fosu-Mensah, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Pogba, McTominay; James, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial.
Substitutes: Henderson, Bailly, Fred, van de Beek, Greenwood, Ighalo, Wan-Bissaka.
Crystal Palace (4-4-2) Guaita; Ward, Kouyate, Sakho, Mitchell; Townsend, McArthur, McCarthy, Schlupp; Ayew, Zaha.
Substitutes: Hennessey, Kelly, Inniss, Milivojevic, Meyer, Eze, Batshuayi.
Referee Martin Atkinson.
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Preamble
Hello. It’s time for another season in the irresistible soap opera that is Manchester United post-Fergie. The last one went pretty well: United finished third in the league, realistically the highest achievable position, and reached the semi-finals of all three cup competitions. But these are not the kind of laurels on which a club of United’s stature should rest; their task for this year is to continue the dramatic improvement that was sparked by the arrival of Bruno Fernandes in January.
While Donny van de Beek looks a crafty signing, most people expected United to do more business in the transfer market. Jadon Sancho and Sergio Reguilon will not be making their debuts tonight, and a slightly frustrating off-season was compounded by the sight of Harry Maguire and Mason Greenwood on the front pages.
United’s first XI still looks pretty strong, though, and they will hope to pick up where they left off in July. United are on the longest unbeaten run in the Premier League, having won nine - some of them spectacularly - and drawn five since the signing of Fernandes.
They will certainly want a better start than a year ago, when they won only two of the first nine games - a run that included a 2-1 defeat at home to today’s opponents. That’s one of many terrific results that Crystal Palace have had away to the Big Six in recent years. This is a long way from being a home banker.
Kick off 5.30pm.
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