Manchester United succumbed to a disappointing 2-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace after conceding two second half goals to Jean-Philippe Mateta on Sunday.
Ruben Amorim’s very unwanted opposite expectations had it that the defeat ends a good run of form the Red Devils were on as they went into the game on the back of three straight wins across all competitions, but this result sees them plummet one place to 13th in the Premier League table.
After Maxence Lacroix’s header had bounced off the crossbar, Mateta, the French, who had missed a glorious opportunity to open the scoring in the first half reacted quickest to poke the ball into the back of the net in the 64th minute and gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
United upped the ante in search of an equaliser but lacked ideas up front.
He added a second and doubled Palace’s tally in the 89th minute. The south London side broke away and Daniel Muñoz was set clear before squaring to Mateta to slam the ball past André Onana and seal victory.
Today’s brace means that he’s now scored six times in five Premier League appearances since the turn of the year.
According to Opta, this was United’s seventh home defeat in the Premier League this season, equalling their worst tally ever in a single campaign of the competition (level with 2013-14).
The last time that they lost more league games at home in a single season was back in 1962-63 (9), and with six Premier League home games remaining in 2024-25, there’s a chance even that may be eclipsed, based on this woeful form.
