Donny Van De Beek’s Reaction From The Bench Sums Up Manchester United's Performance

Donny van de Beek was described as looking "ecstatic" by Manchester United fans after they spotted his reaction on the bench for the Crystal Palace match.

The Dutch midfielder, 23, was heavily linked with Real Madrid in January before United snapped up the former Ajax star for an initial fee of £35m.

But Van De Beek didn't make the starting XI for the Red Devils' opening Premier League clash of the season at Old Trafford today.

Fans wasted no time in flooding social media with messages by hilariously poking fun at the idea of the United new boy "thinking about his life decisions."

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed ahead of the match why the Netherlands international didn't make the starting XI, but he added that Van De Beek could be a "game-changer" if they need to call upon him.

The United boss told MUTV: "We've had a few players just back for a short week. Monday was their first day in training. Some of them have had three weeks.

"So the ones that have been training and doing well from the start we had to make those changes. And I felt some of them had to wait a little bit longer before they were ready.

"He's [Van de Beek] a game-changer if we need to [make a change], but also he's eager to go and he's got qualities that we need. Even if the game doesn't demand a change, I reckon you'll see him."

United were stunned in the first half of the Palace match as Andros Townsend opened the scoring in the first 10 minutes.

Full-time update: Manchester United suffered a 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. Wilfried Zaha doubled his side's lead in the second half after a controversial VAR decision.

Donny van de Beek came off the bench, replacing Paul Pogba, and pulled one back for the Red Devils. However, Zaha would complete his brace minutes later to seal a memorable 3-1 win for the Eagles.