An excellent strike from Joachim Andersen saw Crystal Palace overcome Manchester United with a 1-0 win on Saturday.
United had run out 3-0 winners when these sides met in the Carabao Cup in midweek, but it was Palace who prevailed on this occasion.
Mail Sport’s Nathan Salt assesses the best and worst performers from the clash at Old Trafford.
Manchester United were left frustrated as they were beaten 1-0 by Crystal Palace
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1)
Andre Onana – 6.5
Could do nothing about the goal. Had little else to do in the grand scheme of things but did save smartly from Will Hughes in the second half.
Diogo Dalot – 5
Much less effective than the dominant display he put in during the cup clash between these sides. Was loudly jeered in the closing stages for not showing urgency to get the ball in the box.
Raphael Varane – 6.5
Made some crucial interceptions early on and is an important piece of this backline for his leadership to those around him.
Victor Lindelof – 6
Almost got caught out by Eze early on but put in a solid display. Going to be important moving forward with Lisandro Martinez expected to be out for at least two months.
Sofyan Amrabat – 5
Gave away a cheap free-kick that led to the first goal and all around looked the midfielder slotting in at full-back. Needs to be paired alongside Casemiro as soon as possible. Booked.
Sofyan Amrabat, who was deployed at left-back, struggled for Manchester United
Casemiro – 5.5
Not at his effective best. Cut a frustrated figure at times but both he and Amrabat should benefit from having the other as foil. Both trying to do too much at times. Booked.
Mason Mount – 6.5
One of United’s brighter players on a rain-soaked day but had head in hands when he headed over at the near post from Dalot’s fizzing cross. Unmarked, he knows he should have scored. Booked.
Facundo Pellistri – 5
Found life really tough hugging the right touchline. His directness is an asset but he found himself out go the game for too long. First substitution for Ten Hag.
Facundo Pellistri was unable to make a major impact and was out of the game for too long
Bruno Fernandes – 6
Never cheated the fans for effort – including one full pitch run to stop a Palace attack – but he found it tough to create meaningful opportunities for those ahead of him.
Marcus Rashford – 5
Still seems to be caught in two minds whether to pass or to shoot when opportunities present themselves. Was in the wars as Palace looked to give him rough treatment in challenges.
Marcus Rashford still often seems to be in two minds over whether to pass or shoot
Rasmus Hojlund – 6
Things could have been so different had his early effort not been hooked off the line. Should have got more on a clearing header that Andersen converted from.
Manager: Erik ten Hag – 6.5
Showed faith in Pellistri to hand him his first league start but could not adapt when Amrabat found himself exposed out wide. Lack of Sergio Reguilon on the bench didn’t help.
Subs:
Alejandro Garnacho (for Facundo Pellistri, 61) – 7
Injected a real sense of urgency into United’s attack and was the main source of creation when he came on for the final half-hour.
Harry Maguire (for Raphael Varane, 88)
Donny van de Beek (for Victor Lindelof, 88)
CRYSTAL PALACE (4-2-3-1)
Sam Johnstone – 7
Made a number of smart stops when he was called upon and wisely chose not to take too many risks with a wet ball. More than happy to punch the ball away time and again.
Palace goalkeeper Sam Johnstone made a number of smart stops against his former club
Joel Ward – 5.5
Booked for a terrible tackle on Rashford and was fortunate to escape a VAR review when the ball clipped his hand. Deserves credit for his role in the clean sheet.
Marc Guehi – 6.5
Should have made it 1-0 when unmarked inside the area in the early exchanges, only to send his header wide. Alongside Andersen it was a marked step-up on Chris Richards and Rob Holding in the cup game.
Joachim Andersen – 7.5
Unbelievable goal to open the scoring. His passing is that of a creative midfielder but he’s got the defensive grittiness to back it up.
Joachim Andersen scored an unbelievable goal for Palace and impressed with his passing
Tyrick Mitchell – 7
Full stretch off the line to clear Hojlund’s dink past Johnstone. Struggled in midweek but this was a real show of character. Much improved.
Chieck Doucoure – 6.5
Felt like the cup game passed him by but he was able to use his physicality to get a better grip of central areas here.
Will Hughes – 6
Booked for kicking the ball away was needless and will have irked Roy Hodgson. Stung the palms of Onana midway through the second half.
Jordan Ayew – 6.5
Knew early on he would have the beating of Amrabat and he found himself screaming at team-mats when they didn’t look for him early in behind. From a Palace perspective they will want a more consistent end product, though.
Jeffrey Schlupp – 5.5
Back-to-back games which have passed him by. Was no surprise to se Roy Hodgson hook him for his first change.
Eberechi Eze – 7
A game-changer for Palace. His burst of pace in the first step caused chaos for United’s backline and he continually found pockets of space operating out of the No 10 role.
Eberechi Eze was a game-changer for Palace, with his pace causing problems for United
Jean-Philippe Mateta – 6
Does a lot of the dirty work that goes unnoticed. It’s a thankless task leading the line on your own but Mateta appears to relish the physical battle to bring others into play.
Manager: Roy Hodgson – 7
Was frustrated that his players only got back at close to 4am following the cup game but there was no sense of tiredness. Responded well to United and exploited Amrabat, which proved effective.
Subs:
Jairo Riedewald (for Jeffrey Schlupp, 78) – 6
Showed energy but was sent on more to disrupt any rhythm from United rather than add a creative spark to Palace.
Chris Richards (for Eberechi Eze, 88)
