Manchester City was in danger of plunging into a full-blown crisis approaching the halfway point of its Premier League title defense after falling behind to Luton.

Chelsea and West Ham had to come from behind to oust lower-league opposition in the FA Cup to reach the fifth round.

Cristiano Ronaldo was grumbling to himself and shaking his head as he went straight toward the tunnel at the final whistle of Manchester United’s latest slip-up at Old Trafford.

(Richard Heathcote/Pool via AP)Manchester United began its Premier League campaign with a performance as disjointed as its offseason. Maybe the 3-1 home loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday shouldn’t really have come as a surprise. After all, United only ended a pandemic-prolonged 2019-20 season 33 days ago with a demoralizing loss to Sevilla in the Europa League semifinals. “We knew Manchester United didn’t play last week and that we had the mental advantage,” Palace winger Andros Townsend said. On a day when 21 goals were scored in four games, there were also wins for Everton, Leeds and Arsenal.