"Twenty times, twenty times Man United" was the sound dissipating from the away end of Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon as Manchester United's dismal campaign drew to a close with a sixth consecutive defeat on the road. Though this was no celebration of United. It was jubilation at the fact that Manchester City had won the Premier League title.
You read that right.
The season was one that commenced with genuine hopes that the closing chant would be 'twenty-one times Man United'. But instead it was 'twenty times' blaring from the travelling contingent as the term reached its climax in order to aim a dig at Liverpool, who had lost out on winning their 20th top-flight title at the death after City turned around a 2-0 deficit against Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa side.
Confirmation of City's comeback was greeted by the biggest cheer of the afternoon from United's section of Selhurst Park. Such has been United's malaise, supporters have resorted to having to celebrate the woes of others. In this case, City were the lesser of two evils as Liverpool's quadruple charge was put to a stop.
It says just about everything that the focus of United fans was so incessantly elsewhere. Those on the pitch looked entirely disinterested and thus were uninspiring in their output, almost seeming to amble towards the full-time whistle and a relieving fresh start to escape the trouble of the campaign.
Not even the presence of prospective manager Erik ten Hag and his assistants Mitchell van der Gagg and Steve McClaren was enough to enliven and propel those on the pitch, who continued to look unmotivated despite a number of viable incentives.
There was always a strange air surrounding the game, which was one of eight final-day matches with 'something to play for'. But, such has been the United's regression to insignificance, the fixture was bottom of the pile in terms of importance. At stake was the final Europa League spot, with West Ham United required to beat Brighton & Hove Albion and reliant on an adverse result for United against Crystal Palace to secure sixth-place.
It was to United's relief that West Ham fell short against Brighton, who were aided by a goal from Danny Welbeck, because United themselves never looked like prevailing against Palace. From the outset, United appeared switched-off and were consequently extremely flat. It was a let-off that results elsewhere determined that they would qualify for the Europa League as opposed to the third-string Europa Conference League.
There were a handful of chances at either end, but United's end product faltered and it was Palace who gained the greater avail - especially down Diogo Dalot's side. The 37th minute proved one of horror for United, with news filtering through as to Matty Cash putting Villa ahead at the Etihad just as Wilfried Zaha gave Palace the lead.
The concession for United stemmed from a mystifying aimless backward 'hoof' from Bruno Fernandes, much like that which culminated in a Watford penalty earlier in the season. Zaha pounced to beat Dalot to the stray ball, turning to evade the United right-back before cutting across Victor Lindelof and beating a rooted David de Gea. United's goal difference consequently hit 'zero'. Their trailing status in the game was seldom a surprise.
At least Donny van de Beek scored on the stroke of half-time for Everton to close out his Merseyside loan move. Again, though, it was proof that positives were coming from anywhere but directly United.
The substandard of United's showing largely extended beyond the realms of analytical possibility. Or at least you would be repeating yourself, because it was, as usual, riddled with stray passes, poor decisions and was disjointed (as has been commonplace) amongst other mishaps. There was no middle ground between a slow tempo and a frantic muddle, emphasising a continued lack of cohesion. As a result, there was a lack of any stance in proceedings.
Ten Hag was often shown to be shaking his heading in discontent from the stands, wearing a glum expression in the meantime. Observing his future squad for the first time, his eyes were being opened yet further as to the task at him. Inferiority was the case once more. It's a good job that the Dutchman has expressed his desire to tackle a challenge.
Whilst excitement and tension brewed elsewhere, United were once again caught in their rut of underperformance that transitioned the game into a blur of repeated error-strewn sequences. Ten Hag was shown just why the side which started the season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and was inherited by Ralf Rangnick had struggled to their lowest ever Premier League points tally - ultimately of 58.
For Palace, their amassed three-point haul never looked in any distinct doubt. By conceding once again and failing to assert themselves on the scoring front, possibly marred by Cristiano Ronaldo's absence, United achieved their sixth away defeat in succession - a run during which they have scored only twice and have conceded on 17 occasions.
Rangnick has completed his tenure at United with a win rate of only 37.9% - the worst achieved by any United manager since Frank O’Farrell in 1972, which is now half a century ago.
"The best thing that happened is the season has finished," De Gea admitted. The goalkeeper went on to say, "Ones who want to stay, stay at the club. Ones that don't want to stay go out, you don't have to stay here."
It is fair to say, especially judging by Rangnick's comments over recent months, that the squad could be quite new-look by the time pre-season comes around. Now, it is time for Ten Hag to take the reigns. At last, the new regime can commence.
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