Man Utd left to rue missed chances as Crystal Palace gamble backfires - 5 talking points

CRYSTAL PALACE 0-0 MANCHESTER UNITED: Alejandro Garnacho squanders away side's best chances after Erik ten Hag starts him ahead of in-form Marcus Rashford at Selhurst Park

Manchester United were held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace as both sides squandered brilliant chances at Selhurst Park.

United came into this game after scoring 10 goals in their past two matches, but could not continue that streak as Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes wasted their best chances and their former goalkeeper Dean Henderson stood up tall. Palace woke up after a dreadful first half but couldn't get past Andre Onana.

United had much of the better half and should have gone in at the break in front, with Henderson making three strong saves before Garnacho and Fernandes struck the crossbar in quick succession.

But Palace improved after Oliver Glasner made a double substitution at half-time and Onana had to be alert to deny Eddie Nketiah's low shot and Ismaila Sarr's rebound attempt. Eberechi Eze then put a glorious chance wide of the post from Sarr's cut-back, prompting huge groans from the home fans. Here are the talking points.

Palace very flat first half

The home side came into this game on the back of four games without a win in the Premier League. Their 5-0 thumping of Aston Villa at Selhust Park at the end of last season suddenly felt like a very, very long time ago as Palace laboured in possession and failed to even get close to the United goal in the first half.

Staggeringly, Palace didn't even manage to touch the ball inside the United penalty area until the 44th minute when Tyrick Mitchell pulled it back for Eze to side-foot straight at Onana. The home fans were extremely restless as Palace failed to play out from the back time and again before lumping it in the general direction of Eze or Jean-Philippe Mateta before surrendering possession.

Palace finished last season in such flying form that many thought they would continue in their free-flowing exciting style in 2024/25. But despite Eddie Nketiah's bright showing, they are still very much a work in progress with a first league win still yet to come this season.

Garnacho fails to justify selection

Ten Hag raised eyebrows pre-match when he left Marcus Rashford on the bench, despite him having scored three goals in the last two matches. "We have to give Alejandro games - and as we have all seen, he has such a lot of end product, scored so many goals, so many assists, but often as a sub," Ten Hag explained. "Also [he] needs starts - he's had just one start this season."

While Rashford sat disappointed on the bench, Garnacho set about returning his manager's faith. He was United's biggest threat in the first half, getting in behind the Palace defence after just 10 minutes to draw a good save from Henderson and then saw his first-time effort cannon back off the crossbar when played in again by Diogo Dalot.

He could have had a hat-trick in the first half alone had he managed to get a touch on a dangerous low cross from Bruno Fernandes. The Argentine winger has on fire against Barnsley, getting two goals and two assists, and really should have added to his season's tally here. His wastefulness early on ended up costing United two points as Palace grew into the fixture.

Henderson gets revenge

Dean Henderson was on United’s books for 12 years, having signed from Carlisle as a 14-year-old. But he made just 29 first-team appearances for the club, having been stuck behind David de Gea for eternity.

After five loan spells, he decided enough was enough and moved to Crystal Palace in 2023 with some bitterness, claiming the way he’d been treated as “criminal”. Having won the No.1 shirt from Sam Johnstone, he is now the main man at Selhurst Park.

He would have been highly motivated to perform against his old club – and he stood up tall in the first half, making a strong diving save to keep out Garnacho when clean through before denying Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt from corners. There was another flying save to tip over Garnacho’s effort from a short corner in the second half and he looked to be relishing the challenge – perhaps too much, if his yellow card for protesting a decision is to go by.

Martinez a lucky man

When Lisandro Martinez flew in to try and win the ball from Daichi Kamada on the edge of the Palace box, United fans drew a deep breathe. The Argentine didn't win the ball and caught the Palace midfielder with a nasty-looking two-footed lunge.

Luckily for him, referee David Coote did not see it as a red card offence. VAR decided not to intervene and he got away with a yellow card, despite a huge protest led by Henderson, who charged out of his goal to complain. Martinez has a bit of a reputation for rash tackles and he was fortunate not to cost his side here.

The Premier League's match centre Twitter account, which now provides a commentary on officiating calls, wrote: "The referee issued a yellow card to Martinez for a challenge on Kamada. VAR checked for a potential red card and confirmed the referee’s call of no red card, deeming this was a reckless challenge and made no contact with Kamada."

United not there yet

Ten Hag welcomed back Rasmus Hojlund and Mason Mount after hamstring injuries, while also benefiting from the availability of £50million summer signing Manuel Ugarte. Hojlund and Ugarte came off the bench in the second half, but couldn't help find a winner.

Ten Hag told Sky Sports before kick-off that "they need now games and to get into match rhythm, so they're definitely not ready for 90 minutes" and that told. But having Hojlund to compete with Joshua Zirkzee for a place up front can only be a good thing.

Rashford was the first to be called from the bench, but he didn't really get a sniff from the Palace backline, which had been all over the place early on but turned things around.

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