Donny van de Beek defeated Manchester United on Saturday night. The English superpower lost in the first game of the new Premier League season 1-3 to Crystal Palace. Van de Beek made his first official minutes for United halfway through the second half, trailing 0-1 as a substitute and even managed to score, but was unable to prevent manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team from stepping off the pitch with an embarrassing defeat. For Crystal Palace it means the second win in two duels.

Van de Beek started with United on the reserve bench, as Solskjaer chose Scott McTominay, Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes in midfield. Timothy Fosu-Mensah was able to count on a base position on the right back of the home side; Patrick van Aanholt was missing from Crystal Palace due to an injury. United experienced a false start, as Crystal Palace soccered to a lead in the seventh minute. Victor Lindelöf let Jeffrey Schlupp take the lead on the left, followed by a cross against Andros Townsend. He reacted attentively at the second post and knocked David de Gea out of an awkward corner: 0-1.

United looked shaky in the back and uninspiring in the front. Pogba made his first appearance halfway through the first half, but his distance bang was relatively easily defused by goalkeeper Vicente Guaita. Shortly after, a Scott McTominay effort shone past the Crystal Palace goal, but otherwise the visit was hardly in trouble. Manager Roy Hodgson’s team took another breath of relief in the closing stages of the first half. Pogba was heeled by a defender in the sixteen, but the arbitration ruled it was a foul. After that De Gea crossed the line with a reflex to the 0-2 of Jordan Ayew.

At the beginning of the second half Mason Greenwood made his comeback at United, but surprisingly the initiative in the first phase after rest lay at Crystal Palace. Ayew shot from distance into De Gea’s hands and shortly after Wilfried Zaha slipped away when he was in a good position to take the lead. After exactly one hour of playing Greenwood had a big chance at the equalizer, but the substitute headed wide at close range. United kept plodding, so Solskjaer decided in the 67th minute to bring in Van de Beek as a replacement for Pogba.

With Van de Beek within the lines United prepared for a final offensive, but barely ten minutes after the Dutchman’s return Crystal Palace doubled its lead. Lindelöf got the ball in his own sixteen unlucky on the hand, after which Ayew was allowed to put in for a penalty kick. De Gea reversed his weak attempt, but as the Spanish keeper got off the line too early, the penalty had to be taken over. This time Zaha took care of the opportunity and he made no mistake: 0-2.

The game seemed to be played with that, but Van de Beek suddenly brought United back into the game eight minutes before time. The substitute got the ball in the sixteen with a lot of fortune in his feet and then pressed convincingly for the 1-2. United had a result in sight again, but five minutes after Van de Beek’s goal Zaha ended all uncertainty on the other side. He shot in the short corner after another weak defence from Lindelöf.