Crystal Palace-Manchester United: Waiting for surprises

Mateta twice brought sadness to Red Devils fans in the most recent encounter. (Photo: CPFC)

The Red Devils continue to play inconsistently.

Manchester United continue to be a controversial team this season. They are inconsistent, do not control the game well, and cannot maintain the pressing rhythm for the entire 90 minutes. However, despite this instability, they are one of the biggest surprise teams in the Premier League when facing strong opponents.

Against big teams, the Red Devils showed their ability to withstand pressure and fight back when they seemed to be cornered. However, when this team played with more players against Everton, they were surprisingly defeated at home by an Everton team that played with 10 men for 80 minutes.

Coach Ruben Amorim publicly expressed his disappointment with the way his team played after the match, but also took responsibility for it.

"They were the better team. We deserved to lose. We didn't play with the right intensity. That's my fault. We need to play perfect football to win games and the team didn't do that."

Amorim has publicly expressed his disappointment with his players. (Photo: MUFC)

The most worrying thing was the lack of intensity and apathy from the players. The defeat ended the Red Devils’ five-game unbeaten run, pushing them into a three-game winless run. The apathy that characterised the Red Devils last season has not completely disappeared, making him fear a return to the feeling of the previous season, when they finished 15th in the table.

This lackluster performance, especially when the opponent was down a man, made Amorim speak out in admiration of the opponent's fighting spirit. "I hope my players, when they lose the ball, they need to fight harder," he commented.

Amorim's Efforts

Despite the 1-0 defeat to Everton, coach Amorim is still trusted with the effort to rebuild the team. Because, what is important is how the team overcomes difficult times. Success is not only about tactics, but also about the values, ambition and long-term vision of the club.

According to expert Filipe Celikkaya, who worked with Amorim at Sporting CP, the Portuguese strategist is someone who never shirks responsibility, always shows humanity and honesty, helping to create stronger connections with the players.

He always tries to put everyone on the same path, and players who don't share the same values as the club (like training and competing at the highest level every day) will have to leave.

Ahead of the clash with Palace, Manchester United’s squad has been devastated. Lisandro Martinez is also in trouble in defence while centre-back Harry Maguire has a thigh injury. The Red Devils’ midfield is even more fragile as Casemiro has been booked and is suspended for the next game.

Up front, striker Benjamin Sesko suffered a knee injury and Matheus Cunha has yet to return to the starting lineup. The simultaneous absence of many key players across all three lines has weakened Manchester United's performance, especially when facing a strong team like Crystal Palace.

Mbeumo is still the main striker creating unexpected victories. (Photo: MUFC)

However, football is not always a game that is easy to predict. Sometimes, individual moments, stubbornness in the darkest minutes or an explosive play will decide the outcome of the match. And that is also the reason why Manchester United have caused surprises many times (like against Liverpool or Chelsea...) this season.

The excellent "captain" of the "flock of eagles"

For Palace, their rise in the Premier League is undeniable. A 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, thanks to a goal from Daniel Munoz and a superb strike from Yeremy Pino, has seen the Eagles move up to 6th in the table, well above Manu in 12th.

Crystal Palace are enjoying an unprecedented period of success. The successes are a testament to the leadership of Oliver Glasner, who has transformed the south London club into a formidable force in the Premier League. Under the Austrian, Palace won the FA Cup last season, the Community Shield earlier this year, and a place in the UEFA Conference League.

Moreover, Glasner also does not hide his huge ambition. He once affirmed that "the most important thing is that we must succeed now". This also poses a big challenge for the leadership as well as the players in the team when they are forced to quickly adapt and meet that aspiration.

The 51-year-old wants Palace to improve in every aspect. He wants the club to be a development organisation, from the squad to the staff on and off the pitch. Most recently, he expressed his satisfaction with the opening of a £30m rehabilitation centre and academy. These efforts show the club is working to increase revenue, which will help bring in new players and upgrade facilities.

Palace's newly opened £30m academy. (Photo: CPFC)

Although he never demanded lavish spending, his departures from Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt were partly linked to disagreements over recruitment. He always asked the team to find new players early in each transfer window, to give them time to integrate into the squad and system. To do this, the board needed to define a clear direction, consensus on how to operate, as well as the need to make quick but reasonable decisions to achieve success.

In particular, his contract expires next summer, creating a dilemma that will force Palace to carefully consider a deal that meets the Austrian's vision. For Glasner, it's not about money or contract length, but about finding a common view of "where we see Crystal Palace going".

Oliver Glasner is known for his high standards and ruthlessness in his management style, willing to cut out anyone who doesn't meet the demands of off-the-ball defensive effort or doesn't put the team before the individual.

Palace have plenty of quality options in Sarr, Yeremy Pino and Daichi Kamada. Up front, Jean-Philippe Mateta continues to score goals, while Eddie Nketiah has shown promise. In terms of organisation alone, Crystal Palace are more stable, more disciplined and more attacking. They know what they want to do when they have the ball, where they need to be when they lose it, and have players creative enough to turn things around.

Manu has not been able to win in the last four matches against Palace in the Premier League. Therefore, the upcoming encounter will likely still be a stage for Oliver Glasner's students to shine. However, just a moment of carelessness, strikers like Mbeumo or Diallo can still break the "stronghold" of Selhurst Park.

MINH PHU

Source: https://nhandan.vn/crystal-palace-manchester-united-cho-doi-nhung-bat-ngo-post926928.html