Crystal Palace 4-0 Man Utd: Erik ten Hag’s side humiliated as Michael Olise’s brace boosts Palace stance

Manchester United’s season has plunged deeper lows as they were hammered 4-0 by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park this night. After Newcastle and Chelsea’s weekend victory reduced United to ninth place, and now a loss to Crystal Palace, former United player Ashley Young described their efforts this night as “shambolic”.

Casemiro, in particular, had a bruising evening after being forced back into action at centre-back. Olise left him floundering for Palace’s opening goal, and Jamie Carragher described his attempted challenge as “embarrassing”. Jonny Evans was then comprehensively beaten by Jean-Philippe Mateta, who bludgeoned in Palace’s second goal, followed by Tyrick Mitchell.

United’s first attempt was achingly predictable, with Casemiro – who has aged swiftly this season – being caught out of position by Olise, who found the bottom corner after some decent defence by Evans and Diogo Dalot.

United initially believed they had levelled against the run of play when the ball rebounded over the line from a corner, but the authorities punished Rasmus Hojlund for colliding with Dean Henderson, before Mateta surged past Evans to score his ninth goal in 11 appearances under Glasner.

Ten Hag sent his team out early in the second half, but whatever he tried at halftime failed, with Palace continuing to dominate and eventually scoring a third goal when Mitchell scored after Joachim Andersen dominated Dalot from Adam Wharton’s cross.

Casemiro had a header saved by Henderson and a goal called out for offside, and his agony was compounded when he failed to anticipate Munoz’s charge, allowing Olise to score his second – albeit Onana did contribute.

Sofyan Amrabat was then fortunate not to receive a straight red card for a brutal move on Olise, which was almost certainly motivated by frustration. It was the closest any United player could come to him all night.

The final whistle brought solace to Palace players, who were given a standing ovation by the travelling fans at full-time, maybe as a show of defiance as anything. However, the standings shows that United will currently lose out on Europe, while Ten Hag’s prospects of keeping his job have undoubtedly decreased.