Sofyan Amrabat told he looks like a 'fish out of water' during Manchester United defeat to Crystal Palace

Former Blackburn and Chelsea striker Chris Sutton claims Sofyan Amrabat looked 'like a fish out of water' playing at left-back during Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace.

United were unable to repeat Tuesday's commanding 3-0 Carabao Cup win, falling flat at Old Trafford against a resolute Palace. Joachim Andersen's deflected first-half effort was the only goal of the game and despite dominating possession, Erik ten Hag's side were unable to break through.

With Sergio Reguilon unavailable for the game, Amrabat was again dropped into left-back. The Moroccan was excellent in that role during Tuesday's cup clash, drifting into midfield and marshaling Jesurun Rak-Sakyi with ease.

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But he found things a lot harder on Saturday, this time against the experienced Jordan Ayew. And after he gave away a soft free-kick midway through the second half, Sutton provided his verdict on a tough afternoon.

"Given away a free kick, being driven back towards his own goal by Ayew and he palms it, a keeper would be proud of that," Sutton told BBC Radio 5Live. "He's not looked comfortable in that left back position today, like a fish out of water."

With little option on the bench, Ten Hag was forced to keep Amrabat at left-back despite the Fiorentina loanee struggling. The Dutchman's substitutions caused confusion for supporters, with Marcus Rashford taken off with over 10 minutes left while Harry Maguire and Donny van de Beek were late introductions.

United continued to push for a late equaliser but failed to generate many clear-cut chances. The defeat is their fourth of the season already.

"Crystal Palace more than