Manchester United’s nightmare season continued as they were brutally ripped to shreds by a rampant Crystal Palace side tonight.
The Eagles came out on top 4-0 but in a sad reality, it could have been quite a few more.
The Red Devils’ major defensive weaknesses were on full show as they have now conceded 55 league goals this season.
What’s more, it was Erik ten Hag side’s 13th defeat of the season, which is a record in the Premier League era.
Speaking to The BBC, the Dutchman lamented his side’s performance during the match.
“As Manchester United, we should perform better,” he said. “The players who were available should do better. It’s a deserved defeat. The performance wasn’t what we expected.”
The manager was then asked to comment on the performance of Casemiro, who endured a torrid night as he was regularly exposed by Palace’s rapid attackers.
“We can’t focus on just one player [Casemiro]. We have to focus on the team performance. This was not right.”
The beleaguered coach was defiant that his shambolic side would improve on Sunday when they take on league leaders, Arsenal.
“We have to put it right on Sunday. We have to learn from this game and improve.”
Ten Hag did make special mention of his team’s incredible travelling away support, who stayed behind to applaud their team off the pitch, in spite of witnessing one of the most putrid performances of the campaign.
“I was really grateful [to the fans]. They back us. They see also we have our problems. You have to stick together. You have to take responsibility. The fans gave us such huge and tremendous support.”
The former Ajax coach was then asked to comment on his future after yet another humbling defeat for his team.
“I don’t think about this. I prepare the team in the best way I can. We have many problems. The only focus I have is to perform better with my team.
“I think only about making my team better.”
It is clear that the Dutchman will have a lot to ponder if he is to stop the Red Devils suffering further embarrassment at the hands of Mikel Arteta’s in-form Gunners side on Sunday.
Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.
