Manchester United trained under the heaviest of grey Mancunian skies on Monday afternoon, the weather mirroring the mood among fans after four defeats in their opening seven Premier League games, the latest being the most disappointing, at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
United are 10th in the table and a long shot for even entering a title race, let alone winning a first one in 11 years. On Tuesday, United play the third of four home games in the space of 11 days, a Champions League tie against in-form Turkish champions Galatasaray, who have won six of their seven league games and drew their first Champions League group game 2-2 at home against FC Copenhagen.
Both Galatasaray goals came in the final four minutes of the game as they chased a result against the 10-man Danes. Late goals have been a trend for Galatasaray in Europe this season.
Winger Antony is available for selection for United, while defender Lisandro Martinez will have further surgery on his injured foot. United still have extensive injury problems but need a win, with manager Erik ten Hag saying: “Top football is always about the result. If the execution and process is not right then you don’t go to win.”
United’s has been far from right recently, with only seven goals from seven league games, three of those against Nottingham Forest. United also scored three goals in their opening Champions League tie in Munich, a 4-3 defeat to Bayern.
Another loss is unthinkable, yet United won’t do what they did when the teams first met in 1993 - underestimate their Turkish opponents. Then, United surged into an early 2-0 lead before quickly finding themselves 3-2 down before salvaging a 3-3 draw. Sir Alex Ferguson admitted he was in shock afterwards.
Man United 0-1 Crystal Palace player ratings
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Manchester United Ratings. Andersen’s fine finish flew past him into the top corner – the first time Palace have scored in the first half all season. Saved from Hughes’ strike on 62 to stop Palace going two up. All three Palace chances came from set-plays. Getty -
Andersen’s opener touched him on the way in. Smart cross to Mount on 69 and the main outlet for United’s attacks on the right. Getty -
Did little wrong. Flicked a header wide on 73 but sat behind a team who were too slow to pass and simply couldn’t break Palace down. AP -
Robbed by Mateta as Palace set up an attack on 63 minutes. Unconvincing, like his team who are a long way from the manager’s demand of a “run of wins”. AP -
Not a left back and, unlike on Tuesday when he was excellent, it showed. Aggressive, but conceded the free-kick before Palace’s opener after a clumsy challenge. Roamed into the centre throughout as he tried to create overloads. Struck crossbar, but the whistle had been blown. Booked for another poor challenge. PA -
Dropped back between central defenders at times. Sent off in corresponding fixture last season and yellow carded after nine minutes in this. Snatched at a shot on 26 minutes. Near post header went over on 39. Overhead kick wide. Beautiful pass to Dalot to set up an attack, but poor passes at other times. Getty -
Determined but found it hard to break down Hughes and Doucoure sat in front of the Palace defence. Shouldered a Dalot ball when he needed to head it. AP -
Lovely pass towards Pellistri on 43 minutes. Whipped effort tipped over on 56 as United began the second half brightly, but it was all for nothing. Reuters -
Couldn’t get the better of Guehi/Mitchell. Better in the second 45 but another who struggled to break Palace down despite United having 75 per cent of possession. AP -
Ran towards goal early on, cutting inside on strong right foot. Persistently bundled way towards goal. Switched to right when Garnacho came on. It’s not happening for him this season, he’s scored only once and the crowd are on at him. AP -
Almost prodded side ahead on 11 but for a goal line clearance. Headed on target on 56, but faded badly in the second half. Set up Dalot for a late United attack, but United are struggling to score goals in the league. EPA -
United subs. Garnacho (Pellistri, 61'): Crossed towards goal on 74 minutes as United dominated in front of 73,428. Shot in 91st minute blocked. AP. -
Martial (Mount, 76'): On to create against a side who were very difficult to break down. Reuters -
Eriksen (Rashford, 77'). Maguire (Varane, 87'): N/A; Van de Beek (Lindelof, 88'): N/A. AP -
Palace Ratings. Big save to beat away Fernandes' long ranger on 55 minutes, and again from Hojlund's header minutes later. Reuters -
Given the task of keeping Marcus Rashford quiet which, for the most part, he did a good job of. PA -
Defended calmly, showed a good range of passing and scored an absolute cracker of a goal. EPA -
Missed an early headed chance which might have broken the deadlock. Made up for it with an accomplished display at the back. Reuters -
Seems a bit of an unsung hero at Palace, strong display at left-back to keep Pellistri quiet. Getty -
Got through an enormous amount of work in the midfield. The ugly stuff and then the even uglier stuff. Getty -
Another workhorse in the Palace midfield. Hughes never stopped running and even drew a good save from Onana with a crisp strike on the break. Getty -
Willing runner and always keen to provide an outlet. Adept at drawing fouls from defenders to relieve the pressure. PA -
If Palace were on the break and creating in open play then Eze was at the heart of it. AP -
Did a solid job of helping out Mitchell on Palace's left-hand side. AP -
Unselfish effort from the big striker who proved an effective target and an outlet for his under-pressure side. AP -
Palace subs. Riedewald (Schlupp 77'): Came on and got stuck in as Palace got over the line. PA. Richards (Eze, 88'), N/A.
Now, Ten Hag and his staff have done extensive preparation for Galatasaray. They know all about their top players, notably number nine Mauro Icardi, their star centre-forward and hero of the fans. Icardi is still only 30, but a well known and controversial name since his teens when he was fought over by Barcelona and Real Madrid.
He went to Sampdoria before successful spells at Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, from where he left for Turkey a year ago after a succession of injuries. He scored 23 goals last season and is already on 10 this term.
Galatasaray have other notable forwards. Hakim Ziyech, another 30-year-old, is getting back to fitness after his loan move from Chelsea. Wilfried Zaha, also 30, is settling in after his summer transfer from Crystal Palace. Dries Mertens isn’t 30, but Ten Hag mentioned the 35-year-old Belgian forward whom he knows well after his spells in the Netherlands before he became a mainstay at Napoli.
Over 3,000 Galatasaray fans are expected to be inside Old Trafford. As ever, they’ll be among the loudest fans in football. But unlike their arch-rivals Fenerbahce who were the first ever team to win a European game at Old Trafford, Galatasary have never won there.
United qualified automatically for the group stage this time round, Galatasaray needed to eliminate Norwegian side Molde and they triumphed 3-2 in Norway, with a winner in the 93rd minute. Another 93rd minute goal in the second leg ensured a 2-1 win in Istanbul. Icardi scored in both legs for the side managed by former player Okan Buruk, who was in charge of Istanbul Basaksehir when they defeated United in 2020.
Before Molde, the Turkish giants defeated Lithuanian team Zalgiris 3-2 on aggregate in the second qualifying round and then Slovenian champions Olimpija Ljubljana 4-0 over two legs in the third qualifying round.
United, therefore, need goals, with Marcus Rashford only managing one so far this season.
“He had five or six chances against Brighton,” said Ten Hag. “If he works hard and the team around him supply and support him with movements then he will come. Rashford is capable of scoring in every game. When he comes in the right spots he will score.”
Defender Raphael Varane said of the current poor form: “It’s about details. We have to be more efficient in front of goal. We need to create a lot to score. We have a team with quality and good mentality but it has not been the start to the season that we expect.”
Asked if United can win this competition, something fans simply don’t expect, Varane stayed positive as he said: “Yes I think so. The quality is in the squad. This competition you have to take care of every detail - a good mentality. We have to make some improvements, [it has not been] the start we expected. We have the ability to compete with the best teams in the world.”
“It’s not only highlights,” said Ten Hag when talking about players experiencing difficult times during their careers. “It’s a journey.”
It has been a bumpy one for United so far this season.
