Crystal Palace 4 Manchester United 0: Ten Hag’s unwanted record – and what’s next for the manager?

Where do Manchester United go from here?

A glut of injuries meant Erik ten Hag’s side had to line up with Casemiro and Jonny Evans at centre-back, but the manner of this defeat will cut deep. They were second best on the pitch and Palace could and should have won more comfortably.

Michael Olise made Casemiro look foolish in the 13th minute before going forward unchallenged to open the scoring. Jean-Philippe Mateta made it 2-0 five minutes before the break when Jonny Evans, 36, was exposed.

Tyrick Mitchell added a third after 58 minutes before Olise scored his second stunning goal of the night eight minutes later.

There is plenty to think about for Ten Hag and INEOS, now in charge of football operations at United, heading into the summer.

The Athletic reviews another depressing game for United.

What happened to United’s centre-backs?

Jonny Evans and Casemiro became United’s 14th centre-back pairing of the Premier League season. Evans only returned to training last week after recovering from a short-term muscle injury and started the game in central defense alongside Casemiro, dropping from his usual midfield position.

Harry Maguire picked up a muscle injury in training last week and is expected to be out for the rest of the Premier League campaign, and his absence has been notable.

It took Crystal Palace 13 minutes to exploit Ten Hag’s makeshift defence, Olise slotting past Casemiro, who dived and was left on the floor, before opening the scoring.

Michael Olise does it again against Manchester United at Selhurst Park.

The French international scores his eighth goal of the season to put Crystal Palace ahead.#CRYMUN

🎥 @SkySportsPL

pic.twitter.com/XIDTIFPg5y

— Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) May 6, 2024

Shortly before the break it was Evans’ turn to be the victim of another Palace attack as Mateta ran over him before doubling the home side’s lead.

The inconsistency at the back this season is in stark contrast to last year, with Ten Hag needing just six different centre-back partnerships on the club’s way to keeping a league-leading 18 clean sheets, which was more than any other team.

Casemiro struggled at centre-back (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane started 16 times in 2022-23. United’s most prolific partnership this campaign is Evans and Varane, who have played alongside each other six times.

United have now conceded 81 goals in all competitions, their most since 1976-77.

A record that United did not need

This defeat was United’s 13th defeat of the Premier League season, which is a record. It is also the first time Crystal Palace have completed the double against United in the league.

They lost 12 league games during the 2013-14 campaign, their first in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, which began with David Moyes in charge and ended with Ryan Giggs taking over after Moyes was sacked.

That record was equaled in 2021-22 when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked and Ralf Rangnick arrived on a provisional basis.

Rasmus Hojlund’s body language says it all at Selhurst Park (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

However, he has now been beaten by the Ten Hag, who will no doubt point to United’s injuries as the reason for their struggles, but it is a damning indictment of a season that has failed to deliver Champions League qualification.

United still have to play Arsenal and Newcastle United at Old Trafford before traveling to Brighton & Hove Albion, so there is every chance they can extend their record beyond 13 defeats.

What does the future hold for Ten Hag?

With every defeat United suffer between now and the end of the season, the pressure on the Ten Hag will increase.

In a season littered with low moments, they somehow managed to hit a new low with their performance at Selhurst Park – but it could still get worse. The prospect of playing Manchester City in the FA Cup final on May 25 is not an exciting one.

United’s new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has a decision to make in the summer when it comes to Ten Hag, and the Dutchman is doing himself no favors when it comes to making his case to stay up front.

As Olise scored his second of the game and Palace’s fourth of the night, the United manager stood there with his hands in his pockets and shook his head. It was a look of resignation.

Ten Hag stood still as the goals flew for Palace (Ash Donelon/Manchester United/Getty Images)

United were outplayed, outplayed and humiliated by a team in the bottom half of the Premier League table. Jean-Claude Blanc, United’s interim CEO, was at Selhurst Park and will no doubt report back to Ratcliffe about the poor performance he witnessed.

If it weren’t so close to the end of the season, it would be fair to speculate whether any United manager would survive this run of form.

Time must surely be ticking on Ten Hag’s tenure in charge at Old Trafford.

What did Erik ten Hag say?

When asked if he was the right man to manage United next season, he told Sky Sports: “Absolutely. The right players are here and when we have them we have a good team. We’re missing almost an entire backline and then we’re in trouble.

“It’s nowhere near good enough, so we’re very disappointed. The fans were behind us the whole game and we should have kept fighting like the fans did.”

On the awful defending for the first goal, he said: “We had five players, that’s a goal that shouldn’t happen, because we really give clear instructions how we should defend that. They didn’t bring him on the field and we hammered each other.

“It was a team performance that wasn’t right, making big mistakes. It doesn’t follow the plan or the script. We have individual faults, but we should cover for each other, let each other down. Not all players are in their favorite positions because we have huge problems, but we have to help each other.”

What’s next for United?

Sunday, May 12: Arsenal (H), Premier League, 4.30pm BST, 11.30am ET

Historically, this Premier League fixture has usually seen two title favorites go head-to-head in a combustible clash. But these days, it’s only the north Londoners hoping to boost their title hopes.

Despite United losing the reverse fixture at the Emirates – two added-time goals earned the hosts a 3-1 victory – they have an excellent record against Arsenal at Old Trafford, winning 18 of 31 matches, drawing nine and losing only four. times.

Despite the speculation surrounding Marcus Rashford, don’t be surprised to see him on the scoresheet. The Englishman scored four Premier League goals against Arsenal at Old Trafford, with only Wayne Rooney (six) scoring more.

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(Top photo: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)