Report: United 0 Palace 2
Manchester United were beaten 2-0 by Crystal Palace at Old Trafford, thanks to a second-half double from Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The Reds made a bright start on the day we remembered those lost in Munich, ahead of the impending 67th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster, as Kobbie Mainoo struck a post and Alejandro Garnacho had a shot blocked from close range within the first 10 minutes.
Though United saw more of the ball throughout, equally, there were enough reminders of the Eagles' threat on the break, as the visitors ultimately won the day with a pair of strikes in the second half from Mateta.
The Palace frontman pounced just after the hour, when Maxence Lacroix's header hit the bar and bounced kindly for him to tap home, before he made sure of our disappointment in the final moments of normal time, when the visitors forced a two-on-one opening, from which Mateta swept beyond Andre Onana.
FIRST HALF - ALL SQUARE
Ruben Amorim opted to make six changes to his United side following our midweek win in Romania - and with both Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee named among the substitutes, Mainoo most closely resembled the role of a centre-forward in the opening stages, with Amad and Garnacho for company on the flanks and Bruno Fernandes deeper in midfield.
Amorim and managerial counterpart Oliver Glasner laid wreaths ahead of kick-off, remembering the Busby Babes lost in Munich as part of our matchday commemorations for our closest Premier League fixture to Thursday's 67-year anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster.
The youthful trio of Amad, Mainoo and Garnacho in attack looked to replicate the fearless attacking spirit of those famed Babes in the early stages, all three making a lively start and combining for a couple of openings inside the first 10 minutes.
Mainoo took the ball wide from a Noussair Mazraoui pass into the area and squared for Garnacho, whose point-blank range effort was deflected wide. Mainoo then turned recipient of an opportunity himself from a neat Amad pass, shooting low for the far corner and striking the left-hand post, with the help of a vital deflection from Eagles defender Lacroix.
At the other end, Daniel Munoz rose above Diogo Dalot at the back post to meet a Tyrick Mitchell delivery from the left-hand side, which he nodded just over the bar. United continued to apply most of the pressure, as Lisandro Martinez had a sweetly struck volley well blocked and Leny Yoro's deft header was diverted behind by away skipper Marc Guehi.
As we enjoyed a series of corners in succession, Palace charged forward on the counter immediately following one of those set-pieces, as Mateta surged past a series of red shirts to break into our half, and while unable to play in a team-mate straightaway, his work in getting up the pitch led to a first piece of action for Andre Onana, who palmed away Lacroix's testing low effort from distance.
Then came game the game's best opportunity thus far - falling the visitors' way - when Daichi Kamada had to check his run down the left of the area, but cleverly played it back to Mitchell to cross, with Sarr glancing his header across goal and just wide, with United thankful that Mateta was unable to provide a crucial touch when lurking dangerously at the back post.
Though the Reds endeavoured going forward, opportunities grew sparse and the contest cagey - but Palace should have took the lead five minutes from the break, as Mateta latched on to Jefferson Lerma's pass in behind, dinking a deft effort marginally wide of Onana's left-hand post. Replays showed the keeper actually got a touch to the effort but no corner was awarded due to Mateta being offside.
SECOND HALF - MATETA MAKES US PAY
All the signs of a physical second 45 minutes to come were evident in the moments immediately following the break - Harry Maguire was booked for a challenge on Mateta and Fernandes dismayed that the same punishment was not forthcoming when he was felled by Will Hughes at the opposite end, while Garnacho was vitally, yet fairly, shrugged off the ball by Chris Richards, having done well to that point to break into the opposition box.
United looked like they would move in to the ascendancy when, like in the first half, we forged two very good openings not long after the initial kick-off. Fernandes was perfectly teed up by Amad with the half just five minutes old, as the skipper curled goalwards from the edge of the box, and was kept at bay by sprawling ex-Red Dean Henderson in the Palace goal.
Henderson was down crucially again, moments later, denying Manuel Ugarte a first goal in a Red as the Uruguayan produced a wonderful acrobatic effort from Maguire's headed knock-down. Amad nearly broke through too following Martinez's raking ball over the top but Guehi recovered well to force a corner.
And yet it was the away side that broke the deadlock just after the hour mark, with the 61st-minute introduction of Eberechi Eze playing a key role in the opener. Palace's no.10 curled a free-kick from deep to Lacroix at the back post, whose header looped beyond the reach of Onana and on to the crossbar, but it landed kindly for Mateta to tuck home the rebound from minimal distance.
In response, Amorim ushered on the strike duo of Hojlund and Zirkzee from the bench, as Mainoo and Mazraoui made way with Amad reverting to a deeper role at wing-back, as we sought to get more attacking players on the pitch.
Fernandes and Amad went close to inspiring a leveller, the former dribbling the width of the box and maybe retaining the ball longer than he'd have liked, but the skipper did release it for Amad who went for a goal following a quick give-and-go, but fired his edge-of-the-box strike over.
A worrying pause to proceedings followed as Martinez was downed following a collision with Sarr, clutching his knee as play had to be halted for several moments, before the Argentinian was withdrawn on a stretcher and replaced by Matthiijs de Ligt. Our thoughts are with Lisandro, as we hope for a safe and speedy recovery.
Our late efforts to get back in to the contest were compounded two minutes from time when Mateta scored his and Palace's second. Munoz broke the offside trap, latching on to Sarr's threaded ball down the right channel and squaring for Mateta, who supplied another clinical close-range finish to beat Onana.
Martinez's lengthy period of treatment contributed to nine minutes of stoppage-time, during which Hojlund came closest to halving the deficit with a glancing header just past Henderson's post - an effort which ultimately symbolised our fortunes on the day, with things not quite falling our way on another frustrating afternoon at Old Trafford.
MATCH DETAILS
United: Onana; Yoro, Maguire, Martinez (De Ligt 82); Mazraoui (Zirkzee 69), Ugarte (Eriksen 87), Fernandes, Dalot; Mainoo (Hojlund 69), Amad; Garnacho.
Substitutes: Bayindir, Harrison, Lindelof, Casemiro, Collyer.
Booked: Maguire 48, Fernandes 64, Ugarte 74.
Palace: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Lerma, Hughes (Wharton 88), Mitchell (Clyne 88); Kamada (Eze 61), Sarr (Devenny 90+7); Mateta.
Substitutes: Turner, Kporha, Schlupp, Esse, Nketiah.
Goals: Mateta 64, 88.
Booked: Hughes 71.