Players who needed to break out did. Alejandro Garnacho and Anthony Martial scored their first goals of the season to signal a resurgence. Casemiro was in full “God of Soccer” mode on the day, scoring and dominating the midfield.
Manchester United cruised to a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the round of 32 of the 2023-24 Carabao Cup (League Cup) at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, on Sunday at 4 a.m. ET.
United lined up with Martial up front, with the No. 7 and youngster Mebri playing in the 1.5, while Casemiro and Ambarat provided the passing lanes from the back. Garnacho and Pellistri were flanked by the returning Baran, Maguire and Dalot in the defense. Onana wore the goalkeeping gloves.
Crystal Palace had Mateda aiming for the Manchester United goal. Ayoob, Schlupp, and Lak Saki provided firepower behind him. The midfield consisted of Riedewald and Doucoure, while the back four was Mitchell, Richards, Holding, and Klein. In goal was former Manchester United goalkeeper Henderson.
Manchester United rarely gave Crystal Palace the upper hand at home. Crystal Palace also sat back and looked for counterattack opportunities. Manchester United shook up Crystal Palace’s organization by switching right and left. Crystal Palace had one shot on goal in the ninth minute of the first half, utilizing the back of Ayew.
Manchester United quickly regained possession and attacked Crystal Palace again. After a quick press, they tried a one-two pass and a behind-the-back space hit, but it wasn’t sharp. Crystal Palace made an unexpected substitution. In the 19th minute, Dean Henderson came off with an injury and returned to the bench. Johnstone filled in for Dean Henderson in goal.
Manchester United scored first. In the 20th minute, after a reverse transition, Dalot drove into the Crystal Palace half. Garnacho was waiting in the box for the pass, and as soon as the ball touched his feet, he calmly finished to roar home. After the goal, Pellistri sent a chill down Crystal Palace’s spine with a threatening shot in the 25th minute. However, Crystal Palace were unable to hold on and conceded a header to Casemiro.
Crystal Palace pushed hard for an equalizer, but it wasn’t to be. Manchester United took the lead as soon as Crystal Palace had the ball and immediately pressed. They didn’t allow Crystal Palace any space. Manchester United took the lead into first-half stoppage time and finished it off neatly.
At the start of the second half, United took Mount off and brought on Lindelof. Crystal Palace also made a change, bringing on Guehi for Lak Sakhi. These small changes to the lineup didn’t change the overall flow of the game. Manchester United took control at Old Trafford and rattled Crystal Palace.
It didn’t take long for United to rattle the net again. In the 10th minute of the second half, Martial opened the scoring with a direct shot from Casemiro’s cross. It was his first goal since the 32nd round of the 2022-23 Premier League season against Chelsea. It was his first goal of the season in the League Cup, proving his value as a Manchester United attacking option.토토사이트
Crystal Palace sat back and focused on finding an equalizer. Klein and others came into the Manchester United box and took shots, but the attacking work was not smooth. In the 23rd minute of the second half, Mateta had a chance to turn and shoot from inside the box, but was denied by Onana. However, the intermittent forward pressure, which was different from the first half, kept United on their toes.
United boss Van Gaal made a number of changes up front with Evans, Gore, van der Vaart and Hooper. With a solid lead at home, he gave his rotation a chance to get some game time under their belts. Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson also took the reins with the introduction of Ojo.
Manchester United effectively shut down the Crystal Palace attack and refused to relinquish the lead. Substitute Hoi Lun struggled with a lot of activity up front, looking for an attacking point. The tide was in Manchester United’s favor until the end, and they celebrated with a clean sheet at home.
Manchester United have been in a bad mood lately. Global sports outlet ESPN reported, “According to sources, United teammates have encouraged Sancho to repair his relationship with Van Gaal. Sancho has been at odds with Van Gaal since he was left out of the squad for the Arsenal match in September. He still refuses to apologize and the row has been going on for more than three weeks,” the report said.
“The England squad, led by Rashford, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire, have called on Sancho to apologize. Sancho has not been given a chance in three Premier League games and has been expelled from first-team training. He is banned from all areas of the first team, including the locker room and dining room. He is currently training with the coaches at the youth team.”
Sancho grew up in the Manchester City youth system. The Englishman left for Dortmund due to homesickness. Since joining Dortmund in 2017, he has developed into a huge prospect. He had many offers from big European clubs, but in 2021, he was offered by Manchester United and returned to the Premier League for a transfer fee of €85 million.
He showed flashes of brilliance at Dortmund, scoring 50 goals and providing 54 assists in 137 games. He was considered a good fit for Manchester United, but hasn’t quite lived up to the hype. To date, he has played 82 games with 12 goals and 6 assists. Despite being a big-money signing for the Red Devils, he hasn’t been able to compete for a starting spot since Van Gaal took over.
Recently, he even had a falling out with Van Gaal. He took to the field as a substitute this season and was left out of the squad for the fourth round trip to Arsenal. “I made this decision after watching him in training,” Van Gaal said of Sancho’s exclusion. He has to show that he is worthy of Manchester United. As manager, I have the final say in selection. Sancho was not selected.”
In other words, Van Gaal had watched him in training and decided he wasn’t fit enough for the Arsenal game. Sancho, however, refuted this claim, saying that he has always worked hard on the training ground and that he is being treated unfairly.
In fact, on April 4, he took to social media to say, “I don’t want you to believe the articles you are reading. It’s a completely false story. I am a scapegoat. I’ve been treated unfairly for a long time. I’ve been working hard on the training ground all week. I want to play football with a smile on my face. I want to play football with a smile on my face and give my all for Manchester United.”
Of course, this can happen in the professional world. However, if the rift between Mourinho and Van Gaal deepens and becomes irreparable, he could be released. Ten Haag never backs down from a power struggle with a player.
A prime example is Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo rose to the top at Manchester United and became one of the best players of all time at Real Madrid. He broke records with Lionel Messi, especially in the UEFA Champions League.
After spells at Real Madrid and Juventus, he joined Manchester United last summer. His arrival at Old Trafford after 12 years was welcomed by United and Premier League fans. He was initially linked to Manchester City but was persuaded by former manager Sir Alex Ferguson to return to his parent club.
His mobility was down, but his goalscoring prowess was not. As the team faltered under interim managers Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralph Rangnick, he remained a top-five scorer in the Premier League and the highest scorer in the Manchester United team.
However, he looked to leave the club in the summer after failing to qualify for the Champions League. Van Gaal held onto Ronaldo, but he didn’t join the team on their preseason tour and training sessions, and he made a counter-offer to the Champions League qualifiers.
As the team’s mood became increasingly clouded, van Gaal dropped him from his plans. He favored Marcus Rashford and others and benched Ronaldo. His playing time plummeted, and his attacking points in the Premier League dropped significantly.
Against Tottenham Hotspur, Mourinho’s behavior was detrimental to the team. Manchester United dominated Spurs to secure a 2-0 win, but Ronaldo went straight into the tunnel in the 42nd minute, even though he was still on the bench.
Van Gaal responded by sending Ronaldo down to train with the U-23 team. Unsurprisingly, he was also left out of the squad for the game against Chelsea. He even dropped a bombshell directed at Manchester United. Ronaldo said, “Disrespectful Manchester United betrayed me and turned me into a ‘black sheep’. As manager Van Gaal didn’t respect me, I didn’t respect him,” he said.
In the end, Manchester United decided to release Ronaldo. They announced the farewell during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Ronaldo wanted to stay in Europe, but no team was willing to pay a high price for his declining skills, so he moved to Saudi Arabia, where he has been playing ever since.
It seemed to be over for now as Sancho put down the post that shot manager Tenhach. The British media “Telegraph” said, “Sancho deleted a mysterious message for director Tenhach. Sancho’s actions appear to be a positive development at Manchester United. Until Tuesday, he posted a message that seemed to shoot director Tenhach, but it is now erased,” he reported.
On the ground in England, he said in response to Sancho’s actions, “Coach Ten Haach will give an answer to Sancho’s question through a press conference. Manchester United are also expected to make an official statement. In the end, Manchester United and Sancho will work together for each other’s benefit.”
However, if it is a simple cooperation, there is a possibility that the lease will be pursued in January. “The Daily Mail” said, “The frustration grew as Sancho struggled at Manchester United. He was also eliminated from the England national team. Dortmund also wanted to bring Sancho in January last year, but the loan offer was rejected by Manchester United. “If we don’t properly catch a feud with manager Ten Ha-ch, Sancho will eventually return to Dortmund,” he said.
Bent, who played in the Premier League, also reacted the same way. Bent said on England’s TalkSport, “If Sancho intends to remain at Manchester United, this should be done at home.” If I were Sancho, I would go directly to the manager and ask him what’s wrong with me. Looking at Sancho’s actions open to the public, it seems he wants to leave Manchester United. “It may be too much to play in the Premier League, but it is shameful to see Sancho’s talent and ability,” he pointed out.