Rashford misses penalty as Palace stun United

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:21 am

A stoppage-time goal from Patrick van Aanholt gave Crystal Palace a memorable 2-1 win at Manchester United after a toothless display by the home side.

Van Aanholt powered a shot past United keeper David De Gea after Paul Pogba lost possession to hand Palace their first league win at Old Trafford since 1989.

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Daniel James scored in the 89th minute to cancel out a first-half opener by Jordan Ayew for the visitors, but Palace had the final say as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men suffered their first defeat of the season.

"We just were not clinical enough in front of goal and they scored two very easy goals," Solskjaer told the BBC.

"I thought we got our act together second half, we just couldn't hit the target. We have dominated the game but we have not controlled it.

"We should have dealt with the last five minutes better. We defended poorly at times today and it cost us. Sometimes you do not find that end product and that happened today. We did not test their keeper enough. It cost us dearly today."

Ayew scored against the run of play in the 32nd minute as Palace punished United's lack of creativity in midfield and bite up front, with Marcus Rashford missing a 70th-minute penalty for the home side.

Palace were rewarded for their first foray into the United half, as Jeffrey Schlupp headed on goalkeeper Vicente Guaita's punt upfield and Ayew steered a low shot past De Gea after taking the ball in his stride.

With time running out for United, Wales winger James equalised when he curled a delightful shot into the top corner but the home side's joy was short-lived as Palace grabbed the winner several minutes later.

Pogba, who missed a penalty in Monday's 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers, compounded another poor performance when he gave the ball away in the danger zone and Van Aanholt pounced to beat De Gea with a low shot from 12 yards.

"There is a first time for everything," Van Aanholt said, referring to his team's first league win at Old Trafford since 1989.

"I think we played really well. I think we deserved the three points. We dug in and luck was on our side today.

"I was gutted when that Manchester United goal went in. We had worked so hard to get the clean sheet but I am delighted that we could counter and get them back."