Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson felt his side were extremely passive during the opening 45 minutes of Wednesday night’s 3-1 home loss to Premier League giants Manchester United.
Palace went into the Premier League clash on a six-match unbeaten run that has seen the Eagles move clear of the relegation waters, but Roy’s men struggled to keep the impressive form during the first half and trailed by a goal at half time thanks to strike from Belgium international striker Romelu Lukaku.
The Manchester United number nine then doubled the Red Devils’ lead after the commencement of the second half and although Joel Ward halved the deficit for Crystal Palace, that only proved to be a short respite as English star Ashley Young completed the goal scoring for the Red Devils late on.
The English tactician admitted after the encounter that the 20-time champions at were completely deserving of their victory and he was angered by the manner of his team’s display, especially during the first half of the clash.
Roy Hodgson, as reported on Myphonefootball.com after the match, said that his side were beaten by a very good and superior Manchester United squad.
“When the third goal goes in that’s the end of it.”
Palace will be looking to bounce back from the loss when they travel to Turf Moor to take on Burnley on Saturday.
The visitors had the problem of their own as they had nine first-team players unavailable for the trip to Selhurst Park on Wednesday night.
Undoubtedly, Crystal Palace paid for the absence of Mamadou Sakho who was ruled out of the fixture because of a knee problem.
The former Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool defender picked up the knee injury in the loss to former Premier League champions Leicester.
Crystal Palace and the veteran manager seem short on options in defence as Martin Kelly joined Sakho on the sidelines after also sustaining a muscle injury, while right full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka is still recovering from a hamstring problem.
Pape Souare is still a long-term absentee for Palace after undergoing an operation on his injured shoulder but he is expected to return in the middle of next month.
On the other hand, the Eagles next Premier League game is scheduled to against Burnley, with betbrain.co.uk giving fans chance to cash out of their passion once again this week. However, it’s yet to be seen if Crystal Palace will be walking away with three points after Saturday’s game.
