Report: Crystal Palace 1-0 Manchester United | OneFootball

On a sunny day in Croydon, South London, it was Manchester United taking on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on the last day of the season.

United came into the match in bad form with only 1 win in 6 and needing to match West Ham’s result at Brighton to secure Europa League football. Palace, on the other hand, were looking for their highest league finish in 4 years and to end a good season on a high under their new manager Patrick Vieira.

With United’s newly appointed manager Erik ten Hag in attendance, it was all eyes on the players to show him why they should be in the squad with basically nobody safe going into next season.

The match started off slowly with United having spells of possession, but with nothing to show for it.

The first chance for United came around the 10 minute mark when Fernandes had a shot from 25 yards out that was deflected and landed at Cavani’s feet. The Uruguayan then took a snap shot, the keeper was wrong-footed but still managed to stick a hand out and make the save.

In the 37th minute, United had a throw in at the halfway line. Telles threw the ball to Bruno, who blindly hooked the ball in Dalot’s way. Unfortunately Dalot wasn’t anticipating or prepared for the pass which put him in huge trouble as Zaha pounced in a flash and nicked the ball off him. Zaha then drove across the edge of the box and drilled his shot into the far bottom corner giving De Gea no chance.

1-0 Palace.

That brought us to half time, down 1-0, which United fans have almost become accustomed to throughout this season. Hannibal was the only real bright spark in the first half when the 19-year-old clearly showed the most enthusiasm in a United shirt.

The second half started and United looked a bit sharper, with the best chance coming when Fred slipped Hannibal through on goal but the defender got there just in time to tackle him and the keeper collected easily.

United had few more chances throughout the second half, with the pick of the bunch being when Alex Telles whipped a corner in to the box and McTominay peeled away from his marker which left him by himself at the back post. He jumped up for a header which proved to be tame as it went straight to the Palace keeper.

The game died out and the final whistle came. This confirmed another loss for United this season capping off a hugely underwhelming season.

Despite the loss Manchester United were able to secure Europa League football for the 22/23 season. This was possible as West Ham were defeated 3-1 on the South Coast by Brighton.

United can now look forward to pre-season training with Ten Hag, with fans eager to see what the Dutchman can bring to the club.