Winners and losers from Man Utd v Crystal Palace

Karan Tejwani

• 19 Jul 2022 08:31 CDT
• 4 min read

Manchester United continued their good form in pre-season with a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.

This was United’s third pre-season match, having faced Liverpool in Thailand and A-League side Melbourne Victory at the same venue, both of which were convincing wins.

The result against Patrick Vieira’s side was arguably the most encouraging of the lot, as United showed their best football with what is close Erik ten Hag’s best-possible starting XI.

Although the match started off on a negative note, with captain Harry Maguire booed on every touch by the local support, the fans were later buoyed by some excellent attacking football.

Winners

Front three

The front three of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho were particularly impressive, with all three getting on the scoresheet and continuing their fine pre-season form.

Sancho and Rashford have scored in two pre-season matches, while Martial has scored across all three, proving his worth after a difficult 2021-22 campaign at Old Trafford and later Sevilla on loan.

Martial, in particular, seemed to be on the fringes, and there was belief that he was going to be sold, but considering his form and Cristiano Ronaldo’s uncertainty, he could remain.

Donny van de Beek

Other than the front three, half-time substitute Van de Beek was involved in the attacking play and set up Manchester United’s second goal, scored by

Rashford.

There has been plenty of speculation over Van de Beek’s role in the Manchester United team under Ten Hag, but he made a good impression in this friendly against Palace.

There was always a belief he could do well under Ten Hag, and the performance against Palace may encourage the coach to give him more chances.

Harry Maguire

Maguire got over the difficult start as well, and was generally untroubled for most of the match, as his side romped to the victory.

He showed his best qualities: playing the ball forward with ease and showing comfort in possession, something admired by his previous managers as well as

England boss Gareth Southgate.

Before the game, Ten Hag showed his support for the captain, and this performance may only reinforce the coach’s beliefs in the Englishman.

Losers

The booing fans

It seems bizarre to boo a player in a friendly, and even more so when they’ve come from afar and rarely ever play in Australia, so for the few to do that is a wasted opportunity to show backing.

It’s a new season, and a new start under a new coach, the ideal thing to do would’ve been to forget about last season and try to boost players for this campaign.

Instead, there was a choice to boo a player who’s admitted his shortcomings, in an act that benefits nobody and only creates more animosity.

Alex Telles

Telles was already unpopular with Ten Hag before pre-season, and he’s been given chances as a centre-back in friendlies.

However, the Brazilian hasn’t taken his chances, and with Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia occupying the left-back spots, it seems unlikely Telles will have much to play next season.

He may be sold, but there aren’t many offers incoming for him, meaning that it could be a season on the fringes, based on his current form.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Another full-back who has fallen out of favour in recent times, Wan-Bissaka may not get too many chances to prove his qualities next season.

Diogo Dalot has been very impressive, especially against Palace, and that may limit Wan-Bissaka’s chances even more.

Crystal Palace themselves have been linked with a move for the player, and he may be itching for a move to prove himself once again.