Many Manchester United fans woke up and didn't seem to believe their eyes, and even wondered if the score was written backwards. In the final match of the 36th round of the English Premier League, Manchester United lost 0-4 away to Crystal Palace and slipped to eighth place. In the last 10 rounds, Manchester United have dropped 20 points, and the top four that should have been won have become out of reach.
Manchester United faced Crystal Palace away, captain Fernandes was rarely absent, and Maguire was injured in training, which made fans feel that the team's medical team is really problematic, and even Fernandes, known as the "Iron Man", is not immune. More than 60 injuries have left Ten Hag in a difficult situation without rice, and Onana, Diogo Dalot and Garnacho are among the few players who have not been plagued by injuries.
Due to the serious lack of defenders, Casemiro had to continue to play a cameo role at central defender, and wear the captain's armband, the veteran Evans is reported to be unable to pass the team's physical test, can only return to the team quickly, Wan-Bissaka and Dalot two right-backs, take turns to appear in the left-back position. Mason Mount, the owner of the number seven shirt, replaced Bruno Fernandes as the central attacking initiator of the midfield, with Marcus Rashford continuing to miss out through injury.
The change of many people in the front and back of the field has led to Manchester United's performance not as good as a relegation team, Casemiro's multiple mistakes, Evans's isolation, so that Manchester United's defense is constantly broken by opponents, and the four-goal defeat is the second largest victory for Crystal Palace in the Premier League. Coach Glasner enthused after the game that this was the first time the team had allowed the opponent to shoot no more than 10 times, and the whole team was full of passion and teamwork paid off handsomely.
In this game, Manchester United refreshed a number of data on the "lower limit", which will not be counted one by one. Considering that the remaining three opponents are Arsenal, Newcastle and Brighton, it is perhaps, at the end of the season, United will have the worst ranking and lowest points in the Premier League's history. Previously, David Moyes led United to a seventh-place finish in the Premier League, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick and Rangnick combining to give United just 58 points for the season, two of the worst stats Ten Hag could break through.
As the season drew to a close, Manchester United fans suddenly discovered that even with such a poor result, the gap between the team and the fourth place was not as big as expected. United now have a game in hand and 13 points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, and if they can pick up 10 more points, they still have a good chance of finishing fourth. In the past 10 games, Manchester United has only won 2 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses, conceding 20 points, so it is not impossible to get more than a dozen points.
In those 10 games, Manchester United lost to Fulham, Manchester City, Chelsea and Crystal Palace, four draws were Brentford, Liverpool, Bournemouth and Burnley, and two wins belonged to Everton and Sheffield United. In addition to the defeat to Manchester City, it can be said that the reason for the lack of strength, but also to take the half-time lead, it is not completely impossible to win.
Many of the remaining seven games without a win have come in the last moments, conceding in the 96th minute against Fulham, conceding in the 98th minute against Brentford, conceding twice in the 98th and 99th minutes against Chelsea, conceding in the 88th minute against Burnley and conceding in the 84th minute against Liverpool, with only Bournemouth and Crystal Palace not conceding in the last minute. In these games, if Manchester United could hold on to the end, score more than 10 more points and squeeze into the top four, it should have been an easy thing.
I have to say that Manchester United led by Ten Hag is a great opportunity for himself, and the Champions League seat is lost and lost, and no one else can be blamed. During the period when Ten Hag led the team in the past, it was easy to be caught up by opponents later, and there are many examples of being "overturned" in the end, and the Champions League five years ago has exposed this weakness.
At that time, Ajax defeated Real Madrid, eliminated Juventus, and advanced to the last four of the Champions League. However, in the semi-finals, facing Tottenham Hotspur from the Premier League, they won the first leg away by one goal, and returned to home in the second leg, scoring two goals early to lead by three goals on aggregate. However, in the last half hour or so, Tottenham stubbornly scored three goals in a row away from home, and in the end, because of the lack of away goals, the "youth storm" led by Ten Hag came to an abrupt end in the semi-finals and missed the final.
In addition, Ajax's cup and league matches in the Netherlands have also been reversed at the last moment, and it has long been an open secret that Ten Hag cannot maintain the advantage until the end. To be sure, United have not been without merit in recent games, including the much-criticised Champions League group stage, but have had a number of chances to win. However, conceding goals at the last minute again and again, turning the win into a draw or even a loss, is the most important problem for "Teng's Manchester United" to solve.
Ferguson was the best at turning things around in the final moments, while Ten Hag was the opposite, often with Manchester United being reversed. If Ten Hag remains in the club next season, how to keep the win until the referee blows the whistle will be key to whether United can go further.