A poor showing at Old Trafford on season opener for Manchester United saw them comprehensively beaten 3-1 by visitors Crystal Palace.
Former United player Wilfred Zaha scored twice as the Roy Hodgson side recorded their second consecutive win at Old Trafford.
The defeat was United’s third opening day defeat at home in over two decades.
With fans reacting angrily to the lackluster performance, Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave a damning assessment of his team.
“We didn’t deserve to get anything from the game, we started badly and slowly and we looked like a team early on in their preparation in pre-season.” Solskjaer told Sky Sports.
“You could see that they came flying out of the traps. You could see the difference between their prep with four friendlies and this is their third game this season whereas this is only our first game. We had one friendly last week but I think it showed. We were way short.”
“You could see the physicality here this evening. They were sharper than us, they were stronger than us and we’ve got to catch up quickly.”
Former United defender and Captain Gary Neville voiced his disgust, arguing that the current team cannot compete with Manchester City and Liverpool for the premier league.
He says it is time the United hierarchy prioritized buying a new defender instead of looking for strikers and midfielders such as Jordan Sancho.
Neville further noted that Lindelof and Maguire are lacking in depth and speed required to adequately defend.
“We can talk about Jadon Sancho all we like but until Manchester United get a centre-back who can run and defend one-on-ones they are never going to win the league. They are never going to win the Premier League with that centre-back pairing.” Neville said.
Pinpointing exactly where United need to strengthen, Neville added: “They need a centre-back, they need a left-back and they need a forward-striker.
“Without them, Man Utd are not going to close the gap. Chelsea have acted and Liverpool are acting – they are already stronger.
“This won’t have settled down the Man Utd fans who have been demanding more activity in the transfer market. The club just don’t seem able to get things done quickly enough or efficiently enough.”
