Man United in crisis: transfers, tactics and takeover helped lead up to 4-0 humiliation at Palace

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — A bad season just keeps on getting worse for Manchester United.

The 20-time English champion was routed 4-0 by Crystal Palace on Monday and faces the prospect of its lowest finish in the Premier League era, as well as a season without European soccer.

Champions League qualification was already beyond Erik ten Hag's troubled team before its latest defeat. Now, sitting eighth in the standings, even the third-tier Conference League could end up out of reach.

On current form, United might need to beat Manchester City in this month's FA Cup final to secure a place in the Europa League. On current form, there is little chance of that happening.

One of the world's most storied clubs is in a mess and the humiliation at the hands of Palace was the latest evidence of that.

A record of 13 league defeats is the most United has suffered in a Premier League campaign. In all competitions that number rises to 18, including four losses in six games as United crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage.

Ten Hag's team has conceded 81 goals in all competitions, which is the most since 1976-77.

According to stats company Opta, United has also spent more time in a losing position in league games this season than a winning one.

Its only win in its last seven league games was against last-placed Sheffield United.

United's lowest finish in the Premier League era — which it long dominated, winning 13 titles under former manager Alex Ferguson — was seventh under David Moyes in 2013-14.

Here are some of the reasons behind United's fall this season.

INJURIES

United's substitutes' bench against Palace included six teenagers and two goalkeepers, such is the level of the injury crisis which has gripped Ten Hag's team. Jonny Evans, the veteran 36-year-old center back, was rushed back from injury to cover for the absent Harry Maguire and midfielder Casemiro had to play as a makeshift defender.

It has been the story of United's season with key players ruled out for long periods, including Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Mason Mount, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford.

Yet United is not the only team to suffer from injuries, with Liverpool and Newcastle also seeing their squads decimated by absences.

Even Ten Hag accepted there was no excuse for Monday's performance.

“The players who were available should do better. It’s a deserved defeat,” he said.

TACTICS

Last season United had one of the meanest defenses in the Premier League, with only treble-winning City and Newcastle conceding fewer goals.

It's been a very different story in Ten Hag's second season in charge, with the openness of his team a consistent problem.

To compound the issue, United has found goals hard to come by at the other end of the field. A total of 52 scored is the joint lowest in the top half of the standings, level with 10th-place Bournemouth. Luton — which is in the relegation zone — has scored 49.

United is too open in midfield, too fragile in defense and not potent enough in attack. And it falls on Ten Hag to come up with the solutions.

TRANSFERS

United's recruitment record simply hasn't been good enough since Ferguson retired in 2013, with the club spending billions of dollars on players who have failed to live up to their reputations.

Ten Hag cannot be held responsible for what went before him, but there are question marks over the players signed on his watch.

The $95 million spent on Antony has not provided the sort of return fans would have expected, with the Brazil winger struggling to adapt to the English topflight.

Casemiro, who looked out of his depth at Palace — albeit out of position in defense — appears to be past his best at 32 and a shadow of the player who dominated midfield for Real Madrid.

Mount and Martinez have both been injury prone, while goalkeeper Andre Onana has made a slew of costly blunders.

After two summer windows, Ten Hag's signings haven't been able to lift the level of the squad significantly.

SQUAD QUALITY

It has been reported that United is willing to listen to offers for the majority of its players in the offseason, with notable exceptions including Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho.

That speaks volumes about the changes required to transform the squad and the tight financial restraints on the club if it is to operate within the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules.

With defender Raphael Varane and forward Anthony Martial out of contract at the end of the season, there will be two key areas United needs to strengthen in, even before sales.

OWNERSHIP UPHEAVAL

Ten Hag has been left in limbo while new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe completed his minority investment.

For much of his time in charge, he has been uncertain about who he would ultimately answer to, with the Glazer family listening to offers to sell the club and British billionaire Ratcliffe competing with Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani over a buyout.

It was anticipated that a deal would be concluded in time for last year's summer transfer window when United was on the back of a third-place finish in the league and success in the English League Cup.

Instead the wait went on until Ratcliffe eventually secured what will be a 27.7% minority stake and assumed control of soccer operations.

Off the field, changes have been happening at pace with new directors, a new chief executive and technical director hired. Newcastle's Dan Ashworth is wanted as sporting director, while former football director John Murtough, who worked closely with Ten Hag, has departed.

In other words there has been a lot of upheaval behind the scenes, which has coincided with the team's alarming slump on the field.

New technical director Jason Wilcox has been assessing United's operations since assuming his role last month. In that time he has seen his new club blow a 3-0 lead and need penalties to beat second tier Coventry in the FA Cup semifinals, draw at home against relegation struggler Burnley and get routed by Palace.

The only win he has seen in regulation time was at home to Sheffield United after twice going behind to a team that was relegated later that week.

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Burnley at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho reacts after the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Burnley at Old Trafford, Manchester, England, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes reacts after the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Burnley at Old Trafford, Manchester, England, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Ian Hodgson/PA via AP)

Manchester United's Toby Collyer, left, Manchester United's Christian Eriksen, centre, Manchester United's Jonny Evans react disappointed after the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Manchester United at Selhurst Park stadium in London, England, Monday, May 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho, left, Manchester United's Diogo Dalot react disappointed after the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Manchester United at Selhurst Park stadium in London, England, Monday, May 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Manchester United's head coach Erik ten Hag walks on the pitch at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Manchester United at Selhurst Park stadium in London, England, Monday, May 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Manchester United's head coach Erik ten Hag waits for the start of the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Manchester United at Selhurst Park stadium in London, England, Monday, May 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike killed 27 people in central Gaza, mostly women and children, and fighting with Hamas raged across the north on Sunday as Israel's leaders aired divisions over who should govern Gaza after the war, now in its eighth month.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces criticism from the two other members of his War Cabinet, with his main political rival, Benny Gantz, threatening to leave the government if a plan is not created by June 8 that includes an international administration for postwar Gaza.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan was expected to meet with Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders on Sunday to discuss an ambitious U.S. plan for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel and help the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza in exchange for a path to eventual statehood.

Netanyahu opposes Palestinian statehood and has rejected those proposals, saying Israel will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza and partner with local Palestinians unaffiliated with Hamas or the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

Gantz’s ultimatum expressed support for normalizing ties with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, but he also said “we will not allow any outside power, friendly or hostile, to impose a Palestinian state on us.”

Gantz's withdrawal would not bring down Netanyahu's coalition government but would leave him more reliant on far-right allies who support the “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians from Gaza, full military occupation and the rebuilding of Jewish settlements there.

Even as discussions about the future take on new weight, the war rages. In recent weeks, Hamas militants have regrouped in parts of northern Gaza that were heavily bombed in the war's early days and where Israeli ground troops operated.

The airstrike in Nuseirat, a built-up Palestinian refugee camp in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, killed 27 people, including 10 women and seven children, according to records at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah, which received the bodies.

A separate strike on a Nuseirat street killed five people, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service. In Deir al-Balah, a strike killed Zahed al-Houli, a senior officer in the Hamas-run police, and another man, according to the hospital.

Palestinians reported more airstrikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Program says a famine is underway.

The Civil Defense said the strikes hit several homes near Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, killing at least 10 people. Footage released by rescuers showed them trying to pull the body of a woman out of the rubble as explosions echo in the background.

In the urban Jabaliya refugee camp nearby, residents reported a heavy wave of artillery and airstrikes.

“The situation is very difficult,” said Abdel-Kareem Radwan, 48. He said the whole eastern side has become a battle zone where the Israeli fighter jets “strike anything that moves."

Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for the Civil Defense, said rescuers had recovered at least 150 bodies, more than half of them women and children, since Israel launched the operation in Jabaliya last week. He said around 300 homes have been completely destroyed.

Israel launched its offensive after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting some 250.

The war has killed at least 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between combatants and civilians. Around 80% of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians have been displaced within the territory, often multiple times.

“We need a decent life to live," said Reem Al-Bayed, who left Gaza City and is sheltering with thousands in the gritty coastal Muwasi camp in the south without basic facilities like wells. "All countries live a decent life except us.”

She gave herself a quick mouthful of bread before tearing the rest into pieces for half a dozen children, then poured them a can of beans.

Israel says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames the high death toll on Hamas, which it says operates in dense residential areas.

Netanyahu's critics, including thousands of protesters who took to the streets again on Saturday, accuse him of prolonging the war and rejecting a cease-fire deal that would release hostages so he can avoid a reckoning over security failures that led to the attack.

Polls show that Gantz, a political centrist, would likely succeed Netanyahu if early elections are held. That would expose Netanyahu to prosecution on longstanding corruption allegations.

Netanyahu denies any political motives and says the offensive must continue until Hamas is dismantled and the estimated 100 hostages held in Gaza, and the remains of more than 30 others are returned. He has said it's pointless to discuss postwar arrangements while Hamas is still fighting because the militants have threatened anyone who cooperates with Israel.

Netanyahu also faces pressure from Israel's closest ally, the United States, which has provided crucial military aid and diplomatic cover for the offensive while expressing growing frustration with Israel's conduct of the war and the humanitarian crisis.

President Joe Biden's administration recently held up a shipment of 3,500 bombs and said the U.S. would not provide offensive weapons for a full-scale invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, citing fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.

But last week, after Israel launched what it called a limited operation in Rafah, the Biden administration told legislators it would move forward with the sale of $1 billion worth of arms, according to congressional aides.

Magdy reported from Cairo and Krauss from Jerusalem.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Palestinians search for survivors after an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Nuseirat Refugee Camp, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)

Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike on a residential building in Nuseirat Refugee Camp, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)

Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Police use water cannon to disperse demonstrators blocking a road during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, and calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Police use water cannon to disperse demonstrators blocking a road during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, and calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Police disperse demonstrators blocking a road during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, and calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Police disperse demonstrators blocking a road during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, and calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Mourners pray over the bodies of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Mourners pray over the bodies of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Palestinian boy carries an aid box after storming trucks loaded with humanitarian aid brought in through a new U.S.-built pier, at the beach road of Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Saher Alghorra)

People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Mourners pray over the bodies of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)