"I'm really happy" - Erik ten Hag thanks Manchester United fans for what they did against Crystal Palace

Erik ten Hag has thanked the Manchester United fans for their fantastic support at Selhurst Park in what was arguably their lowest point of a disappointing campaign.

United were easily defeated by Crystal Palace on Monday night as a brace from Michael Olise and goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta and Tyrick Mitchell sealed the win for the home side.

The defeat left United eighth in the Premier League with a far worse goal difference than both Newcastle and Chelsea, meaning they will only qualify for Europe if they finish above one of the two, or defeat Man City in the FA Cup final at the end of the month.

Despite being backed by superb vocal away support throughout the match, United were unable to muster a performance to match their showing as they conceded four goals without reply.

Asked after the loss if he believed the club could turn their fortunes around, Ten Hag took the opportunity to thank the fans for their loyal support amid the poor performances. "Because, as I say, we only had four defeats so far and we had all season big problems, especially the last weeks, we had big problems in the backline but all the time there was always a team with fighting spirit, a team that was hard to beat but today we were easy to beat.

"We have seen the fans, they are backing us from minute one to the end, they were behind the team, so I guess they see the problems we have, I'm really happy, pleased with their support and the team is really pleased with it and we should have taken their fighting spirit onto the pitch."