New Delhi: Manchester United’s recent upturn in performance had to take a momentary stop at Selhurst Park, where a poor Crystal Palace side held on to a goalless draw on Saturday. Only Palace and ex-United keeper Dean Henderson was the final hurdle stopping United winger Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee in the first half, with centerback Matthijs de Ligt also seeing his close-range header saved.
The visitors carried on their momentum at the start of the next half, with captain Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo coming close to scoring. Come the substitutions and a dogged performance from Palace talisman Eberechi Eze, the hosts resisted United’s dominance, producing a double-save from Andre Onana, before Eze scuffed a close-range chance to bring the tie to a cagey end.
If one turns their head to recent history, Manchester United failing to capture three points at Selhurst Park feels rather unsurprising, considering they lost both home and away to the Eagles, with the 4-0 loss in May still lingering in minds. However, United have turned a corner since their chastening defeat at home to Liverpool a couple of weeks ago, evident in convincing wins against Southampton and Barnsley. In the pre-match press conference, United manager Erik ten Hag was assured that the upcoming tie was going to be “different”.
The first 45 minutes could’ve hardly been a stronger vindication for Ten Hag’s claims, with United finding their feet on the Selhurst Park pitch in no time. The visitors first announced their set-piece threat, with Matthijs de Ligt connecting with the corner delivery in the fourth minute. They would continue to threaten from set-pieces, but also asserted themselves in possession, exploiting the hosts’ man-marking system and dominating the midfield battle.
Like in the 10th minute, when United forward Joshua Zirkzee dropped near the halfway line and despite being surrounded by blue shirts, sent a cutting through-ball to Garnacho, with Palace keeper Henderson parrying the following venomous shot aimed at his bottom-right. De Ligt could’ve repeated his Southampton heroics in the fourth minute alone, finding Christian Eriksen’s corner at the far post with no markers around, but sending his powerful header into a crouching Henderson.
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 21: Former United keeper Dean Henderson was arguably Palace’s saving grace. (Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
The visitors would knock at the door just seconds later, when Eriksen sent a fizzing cross from the right to United centerback Lisandro Martinez, who somehow created space and shot at Henderson from close-range.
United’s midfield was an easy figure of ridicule in the aftermath of their Liverpool defeat. Today they were swarming over the middle third, fighting for the ball in near-alleyway scraps, making sure that it was always a white shirt capturing a second ball. Eriksen, on the other hand, was a calm presence as a deep-lying playmaker of sorts, constantly trying to set Garnacho free on the flank.
But in the 27th minute, it was an inverted Diogo Dalot, who somehow threaded a pass between the Palace backline, setting Garnacho up one-on-one against Henderson, his shot curling around Henderson’s gloves and into the crossbar, before Fernandes also fired the follow-up on the cold metal. The first half ended with chances for both sides; Zirkzee slid in to convert Fernandes’ delicious low cross, only for Henderson to again acrobatically tip it away. Palace finally responded with a shot on target, Eze catching Jean-Phillipe Mateta’s cutback and firing his shot straight into Onana.
Some five minutes into the second half, and you could’ve swore that you heard groans mixed in with constant drumming from the home supporters, when Manchester United again looked to be settled in possession. After a series of quick third-man passes, Fernandes was driving with the ball near the halfway line, before finding Amad Diallo. The winger’s feet were almost buzzing with electricity when he cut inside the Palace box, sending his curling and dipping effort a couple of inches higher than the top-left corner.
⏹️ The points are shared at Palace.#MUFC || #CRYMUN
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 21, 2024
A few minutes later, United’s goodwill was starting to fade, when Fernandes played a wonderful one-two with Zirkzee to open up a chasm in the Palace backline, only for the skipper to send his first-time trivela effort off target. The Portuguese playmaker was again frustrating mere minutes later, when given the opportunity to test Henderson from close-range, he decided to back-heel the ball into Garnacho’s path, allowing Palace to clear it. Were United having too much fun?
They were certainly profligate, and so were Crystal Palace. Twice they could’ve nicked an upset victory; first in the 65th minute, when Eddie Nketiah drove towards goal and shot at goal, forcing Onana to dive to his bottom-left, before recovering to stop substitute Ismaila Sarr from knocking the ball into the open net.
Despite his dogged determination, forgiveness for Eze becomes a complicated matter when considering the 72nd minute, when he received Sarr’s cutback at United’s near post, only for him to send his point-blank shot painfully off-target. At this point, United were jolted into urgency to break the deadlock, but could only see the game descend into a stop-start tempo before full-time.
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