RUBEN AMORIM's striker experiment went down like a lead balloon as Crystal Palace cruised to a 2-0 win over Manchester United.
United's set pieces woes continued. And double goalscorer Jean-Philippe Mateta was the only striker on the Old Trafford pitch on Sunday.
Amorim's latest bold tactic saw midfielder Kobbie Mainoo lead the line as the No.9. And it failed miserably, on a day that the club paid tribute to the Munich Air Disaster.
Mainoo starred as a No.10 in United's Europa League win against FCSB win on Thursday. But Amorim can't do this again in the Premier League.
United started well but soon struggled to get out of their own half as Palace established a foothold and were organised without the ball.
The Red Devils had ten shots in the first-half, with zero on target. And Oliver Glasner showed United how to use wing-backs.
Here SunSport's Katherine Walsh rates and slates every United player...
Was left vulnerable by a shaky back-line and beaten by Lacroix's looping header, which came off the crossbar into Mateta's path.
But he couldn't do much about the second goal.
His opposite number Dean Henderson, who departed Old Trafford for Selhurst Park in 2022, had a great game, though.
Came in for De Ligt, who was benched. Was inches away from scoring his first United goal early on.
Did well to block Mitchell after a Mazraoui error, but his positioning was a problem later in the game.
Lost his battle with centre forward Mateta, who held the ball up well and got in behind every time, and was left stranded for the Frenchman's first goal.
Hasn't connected with Yoro. Palace, namely Sarr, opened them both up with ease and should've buried some chances through Mateta.
Was stretchered off after jarring his knee in the 79th minute.
Seems to be enjoying his new role in Amorim's 3-4-3, with sharp, crisp passing from deep into the forward lines.
The Argentine has been scoring the goals recently, but blazed a centre-back's shot over the bar on the brink of half-time.
He was okay in the right wing-back role again but it is obviously not his best position.
Struggled with the dual threat of Mitchell and Daichi Kamada down Palace's left side.
Was asked to shoot too often, with Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee both sitting on the bench. Replaced in the second half.
Bizarrely ducked for Daniel Munoz's back post headed chance on 10 minutes.
Awful link-up play with a horrible blind pass inside the Palace box in a promising team position before the break. He's not a left winger and it's clear why Patrick Dorgu has been signed.
Missing in the middle when Mateta's stunning 80-yard run. Missed half a chance in the second-half.
Restricted. Couldn't get forward much and was unlucky not to score from his usual 20-yard territory after being denied by Henderson.
Was one of three United players booked.
Great individual runs, on and off the ball. Dropped to wing-back after Mainoo came off and was involved in anything good creatively.
Predictable build-up. But worked hard tracking back as one of the two 10s.
Was quieter in the second half and struggled to step up when the going got tough.
Huge experiment by Amorim to have Mainoo lead the line, albeit falsely. It didn't pay off, but it wasn't all his fault.
It looked promising early on when the England star set up Garnacho and hit post inside six minutes.
But he didn't get the service or have the hold up play required to be effective.
Came on for the last 20 minutes and ran around a bit without doing much of note.
As above, not a great deal to write home about despite trying to make things happen.
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