Christian Eriksen, a midfielder for Manchester United, believes that players need to accept responsibility for the heavy defeat against Crystal Palace.

In a disappointing turn of events for Manchester United, Christian Eriksen has placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of the players following their heavy defeat to Crystal Palace. The Red Devils suffered a crushing 4-0 loss at Selhurst Park on Monday night, leaving their hopes of qualifying for European football next season hanging by a thread.

Currently sitting in eighth place with just three games remaining, this could potentially be their lowest finish since the 1989-90 season when they came in 13th.

United’s recent form has been far from impressive, with only one victory in their last seven Premier League matches. Despite missing key players such as captain Bruno Fernandes and several first-choice defenders, Eriksen refuses to use this as an excuse.

Speaking to BBC Sport, he stated, “We just had an off-day and we weren’t in it. It is what it is. We can’t really change the injury things. We have to do what we can on the pitch to change it. Today it didn’t matter who we played. Everyone could have done better. I don’t know what the conclusion is for how it went. We weren’t good enough. We tried to do what we could, but we were not good enough. We’ll take the blame as players.”

The defeat at Selhurst Park marks United’s seventh-largest margin of defeat in the Premier League era, following their 7-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield last year. Eriksen admits that he is struggling to pinpoint the exact reasons for their struggles, but believes that confidence and belief play a significant role.

He stated, “It’s difficult to say the reason to how it’s going as it is, but I think the confidence, the belief is a big one. I think it’s been all of this season when we got the first goal against, we try to come back, but in every good period we have, we concede. Today there weren’t many good periods, so it was a lot of running behind the ball and really not getting the ball and doing anything.”

Despite the disappointment, manager Erik ten Hag still has a chance to salvage some success for United this season. The club has secured a spot in the FA Cup final and will face their bitter rivals Manchester City at Wembley later this month. This presents an opportunity for redemption and a chance to lift some silverware for the Old Trafford faithful.