A falling ‘house of cards’ has no wings. Manchester United (United), the reigning champions of the English top flight, including the Premier League (EPL), with 20 titles, suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of mid-table Crystal Palace.
The Red Devils were brought to their knees by a 0-4 scoreline in the 36th round of the 2023-2024 EPL on Sunday in London, England. After a lethargic performance against 14th-ranked Crystal Palace, the Red Devils conceded two goals in each half. The loss dropped United to eighth place with 54 points (16 wins, 6 draws, 13 losses). United’s lowest season finishing position since the EPL’s inception in 1992 was seventh in the 2013-2014 season. The first through fourth-place finishers in the EPL qualify for the Champions League, the fifth-place finisher for the Europa League, and the sixth-place finisher for the Europa Conference League playoffs, 토토사이트 but United’s chances of qualifying for all of Europe’s top competitions are currently slim.
The loss was United’s 13th league defeat of the season, breaking the club’s record for most losses in a single season in the EPL. They also conceded 81 goals in all competitions, tying the club record for most conceded in 47 years since the 1976-1977 season. With three EPL games remaining, including a trip to league leaders Arsenal on Nov. 13, it’s only a matter of time before the record is broken. In the EPL alone, United has a goal differential of -3, with 52 goals scored and 55 goals conceded, and barring a turnaround, will have a negative goal differential for the first time since the 1989-1990 season (-1).
It was also the first time in 52 years that United lost to Crystal Palace by four goals.
The lack of success has led to criticism of United manager Erik Ten Bosch (54, Netherlands). Tenakh has been in charge of United since May 2022 after leading Ajax to three Dutch league titles. The Red Devils finished third in the EPL last season, but this season has been characterized by problems with mercenariness and managerial skills. “United have the worst leadership in the EPL,” said former Liverpool pundit Jamie Carragher.
United enjoyed a glorious era under Sir Alex Ferguson (83, Scotland), winning the EPL title 13 times in 27 years at the helm, but the club has become a “graveyard of managers” since Ferguson stepped down after the 2012-2013 season. Six managers (not including acting managers) have taken over since Ferguson, including European greats such as Louis van Gaal (73-Netherlands) and Jose Mourinho (61-Portugal) and former United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (51-Norway), but none have won an EPL title and most have left after one or two seasons. 파워볼게임 Ferguson won 65.2% of his EPL games during his tenure, compared to 51.6% for the next six managers.