Chapter 742: A Clean Sweep
On the afternoon of August 24, Manchester United hosted Crystal Palace in their third match of the Premier League season.
United had secured two dominant four-goal victories in their first two matches, and with their Premier League record against Palace standing at 17 wins and 3 draws in 20 meetings, most expected another comfortable win.
The early stages of the match appeared to confirm those expectations. United dominated possession, dictating the pace and creating waves of attacks. A goal seemed inevitable.
However, it was Crystal Palace who broke the deadlock.
In the 32nd minute, a seemingly harmless free kick from the Palace half turned disastrous for United. Vicente Guaita launched a long ball, which Jeffrey Schlupp won against Lindelöf, heading it forward to Jordan Ayew. Ayew found himself one-on-one and calmly slotted the ball past De Gea.
1-0—Palace led at Old Trafford.
United responded with increased aggression, eager to equalize. But fate dealt another blow. Luke Shaw picked up an injury in a seemingly routine challenge and signaled for a substitution. Mourinho replaced him with veteran Ashley Young.
United failed to level the score by halftime, trailing 1-0 as the whistle blew for the break.
Second Half: A Resilient Comeback
United ramped up their intensity after the break.
49th Minute: Ashley Young's cross from the left found Mbappé at the far post, but his shot was blocked by Van Aanholt.52nd Minute: João Cancelo sent in a cross from the right, which Young volleyed, but his effort narrowly missed the near post.55th Minute: Bruno Fernandes fed Harry Kane, but under pressure from Kelly, Kane's shot sailed over the bar. United players appealed for a penalty, but referee Paul Tierney waved play on.
As the game approached the 70th minute, Mourinho made another change, bringing on Mason Greenwood for Marcus Rashford to bolster the attack. The substitution had an immediate impact.
In the 70th minute, Harry Kane controlled the ball with his back to goal, laying it off to Bruno Fernandes. As Fernandes burst into the box, Luka Milivojević clipped him. The referee awarded a penalty, and Fernandes stepped up to convert, restoring parity at 1-1.
This marked United as only the second team in Premier League history to earn penalties in their opening three matches, following Chelsea in 2012.
Controversy and a Last-Minute Victory
Despite United's relentless pressure, Palace's defense held firm. Controversy struck in the 81st minute, when Bruno went down under Kelly's challenge in the box. After consulting VAR, Tierney reviewed the incident on the monitor but stood by his decision not to award a penalty. The decision was met with deafening boos from the home crowd.
Just as the match seemed destined to end in a draw, United found their winner.
In the 89th minute, Mason Greenwood and Harry Kane exchanged a quick one-two before Greenwood set up Mbappé. From 15 yards out, Mbappé curled a sublime shot into the top right corner, sealing a dramatic 2-1 victory for United.
Early Season Standings
United's victory extended their perfect start to the Premier League season with three wins from three. Later that evening, Liverpool defeated Arsenal 3-1 at Anfield, also maintaining their 100% record.
After three matches, only two teams—Manchester United and Liverpool—remained unbeaten with perfect records. Surprisingly, these two sides were also among the most inactive during the summer transfer window.
Liverpool's only additions were:
Sepp van den Berg for £1.7 million,Backup goalkeeper Adrián on a free transfer.
Meanwhile, they sold Danny Ings (£20 million), Simon Mignolet (£6.3 million), and loaned Marko Grujić to Hertha Berlin (£1.8 million), turning a profit in the market.
Similarly, United had not made any signings but sold Ander Herrera for £40 million. Matteo Darmian, Chris Smalling, and Marcos Rojo were also exploring potential exits.
Champions League Draw
On August 29, the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League group stage draw and UEFA awards ceremony were held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
Under UEFA's seeding rules, last season's Champions League and Europa League winners, along with the champions of the top six leagues in the UEFA rankings, were placed in Pot 1.
Since Manchester United were both the Champions League winners and the Premier League champions (the second-ranked UEFA league), the seventh-ranked league champion was promoted to Pot 1.
The eight seeded teams for the Champions League draw were the Champions League and Premier League winners Manchester United, Europa League winners Chelsea, Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, La Liga champions Barcelona, Serie A champions Juventus, Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, Russian Premier League champions Zenit St. Petersburg, and Primeira Liga champions Benfica.
The remaining 24 teams were divided into second, third, and fourth pots based on UEFA coefficients from the past five seasons. Eight groups were formed, following the rules that teams from the same national association or Russia and Ukraine could not be drawn together.
The second pot included clubs such as Real Madrid, Manchester City, Atlético Madrid, Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham Hotspur, Napoli, and Ajax.
The third pot featured Shakhtar Donetsk, Club Brugge, Olympiacos, Dinamo Zagreb, Bayer Leverkusen, Red Bull Salzburg, Inter Milan, and Valencia.
The fourth pot comprised Galatasaray, Red Star Belgrade, Atalanta, Lokomotiv Moscow, Genk, Slavia Prague, RB Leipzig, and Lille.
Group Stage Draw
As defending Champions League and Premier League titleholders, Manchester United were drawn into Group C, along with last season's Champions League semi-finalists Ajax, Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb, and Serie A dark horses Atalanta.
Group A: Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Club Brugge, GalatasarayGroup B: Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur, Olympiacos, Red Star BelgradeGroup D: Juventus, Manchester City, Bayer Leverkusen, Lokomotiv MoscowGroup E: Benfica, Napoli, Red Bull Salzburg, GenkGroup F: Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, Slavia PragueGroup G: Zenit St. Petersburg, Liverpool, Valencia, RB LeipzigGroup H: Chelsea, Atlético Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Lille
Analysis of United's Group
United's group was considered favorable. They stood out as the strongest team in the group.
Ajax, despite their semi-final appearance last season, had lost key players like Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong, significantly weakening their squad.Dinamo Zagreb was considered one of the weakest teams in the tournament.Atalanta, Serie A's surprise package, had talent but lacked consistency at this level.
Liverpool's group was similarly manageable, with no team in Group G expected to pose a significant threat to the Reds.
In contrast, the other three Premier League teams faced tougher challenges, each paired with a top-tier club from another major league. Progressing from their groups seemed likely, but securing first place would be a challenge.
UEFA Awards
After the group stage draw, UEFA held its annual awards ceremony. Bruno Fernandes emerged as the biggest winner, claiming UEFA Men's Player of the Year and Best Midfielder awards.
Manchester United dominated the evening:
David de Gea was named Best Goalkeeper.Virgil van Dijk claimed Best Defender.Harry Kane took home Best Forward.
United swept all the men's awards, further highlighting the team's dominance.
Premier League Matchday 4
August 31, 12:30 PM
St. Mary's Stadium, Southampton
Manchester United visited Southampton in the opening match of Premier League Matchday 4.
By the 31st minute, the score was still 0-0. United's attack was fluid, moving the ball seamlessly from the center to the left, then back to the center and to the right, probing Southampton's defense for gaps.
Mbappé gained possession in the final third.
Sensing an opportunity, Bruno Fernandes made a run out of the penalty area, raising his hand to signal for the ball.
Mbappé's pass was perfectly timed.
"Bruno! Southampton defenders need to be very cautious now!" exclaimed the commentator.
Bruno's red-hot form had been the talk of the Premier League. In just three matches, he had scored three goals and provided four assists.
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl had explicitly instructed his players to focus on neutralizing Bruno.
As the ball reached Bruno, Southampton's defense reacted immediately, bracing for impact.
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