Manchester United loses to Crystal palace in their first game of the season at Old Trafford.
The game which started leisurely took an interesting turn as Andy Townsend sent home the first goal in the 7th Minute, giving Crystal Palace the lead.
As if by a stroke of luck, Crystal Palace converted a retaken penalty kick into a goal leading the red devils 2-0. For the side that had a representation of two key Ghanaian footballers, things were going well until Manchester United’s recent signing Van de Beek pulled one back for his debut.
Although Van de Beek’s goal gave fans of Manchester united hope, the Ivorian Talisman, Wilfred Zaha saw to it that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men went home with a deserving defeat.
Considered as a one-time flop for the famous Manchester United side from 2013 to 2015, Zaha, went onto his twitter page and posted a picture of himself with a caption “Talk is cheap…All praise to the Most High only”.
Commenting on the performance of his teammate, the Andros Townsend said
“Mentally we felt we had an advantage. We knew it was United’s first game and that maybe we could catch them cold if we started fast. We did that in the first five minutes and once we get ahead, we’re a very well-drilled team. Wilf was incredible, what more do you want me to say? We’re very fortunate to have him.”
Speaking to the media, the unimpressed Solskjaer said “Yeah, you can see we’re short and they deserved the points. They were sharper than us in the challenges, tackles.
The Manager added that
“We started off slowly and that had a knock-on effect for the rest of the game when they got the first goal. We had a long season last season and we didn’t finish until August 16, and we’ve not had enough preparation time to be sharper”.
“Of course, we’ve worked hard with the ones who have been here, there’s been a few players that have been away on internationals”
Solskjaer added.
Stressing that his side has to perform better, Solskjaer said. “If you look at the players we’ve got on the pitch and on the bench and not here today, I think we all need to look within first”.
He added that “We need to look at ourselves and we know that we have to perform better”.
“Then again, we’re always, always looking to improve if there’s something out there that’s available to the right price”.
The frustrated manager who believed that Crystal Palace was not worthy of the penalty awarded for handball against Voctor Lindelof felt that the decision was “harsh”.
Roy Hodgson, Manager of Crystal Palace acknowledges that his side had a “difficult start” but was quick to praise his side for humbling the red devils”.
The manager expresses his joy at the performance of Wilfred Zaha by saying that “I’m very pleased for him and very pleased for the club he plays for”. The Manager hopes nobody comes in for Wilfred Zaha in the meantime.
Ghana’s Jeffry Schlupp assisted Andros Townsend in netting the first goal of the derby. The defender has provided more Premier League assists against Manchester United than versus any other team.
