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Manchester United took on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park looking for their first win at the ground since 2020.
Andre Onana returned to his usual starting spot after getting a rare night off in the Carabao Cup victory versus Barnsley.
The back four remained the same from last weekend’s fixture against Southampton with Noussair Mazraoui, Diogo Dalot, Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt all starting.
Christian Eriksen retained his spot in the first team to make it three consecutive starts after the international break and was joined by midfield stalwarts Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes.
Joshua Zirkzee returned to start up front alongside Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho earned a starting spot after his four goal contributions on Tuesday night.
Here are four things we learned from the match.
Erik ten Hag’s side continue to struggle in front of goal
United were plagued last season by tame efforts in front of goal as they only found the back of the net 57 times in the league.
Ten Hag’s side have continued to struggle finishing moves. They top the ranking of most big chances missed this season as they have already failed to convert 17 this season and this was on show again in a wasteful match in South London.
Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes, Matthijs De Ligt, Lisandro Martinez and Joshua Zirkzee could all have possibly done better when presented with fine chances to put their side ahead.
While the creation of so many chances is certainly pleasing, United will not achieve what they want to this year if they cannot find a more ruthless streak in front of goal as the 0-0 draw and point won does little for the club’s league position in the fledgling table.
United continue to keep possession better
The Red Devils came off the back of a confidence-boosting 7-0 win midweek and started the game in confident manner.
United had 67% of the ball in the match and dominated the play, regularly winning the ball back in high areas. Whilst Palace crept back into the game in the second half, the Red Devils were very much the side looking to create throughout.
The additions of De Ligt and Mazraoui at the back were intended to create a more comfortable team in possession and the performance was markedly different from last season’s obsession with transitions and allowing weaker oppositions to dictate the play.
New owners Ineos have made it clear that they not only want to see results improve but also a consistent dominating style of football, and this effort was surely closer to their vision than last season’s efforts, even if the result was less than ideal.
The Red Devils will soon face tougher tests when they play Tottenham, Porto and Aston Villa before the next international break and how the team set up in these games will be a true litmus test of what real progress there has been.
Bruno Fernandes looks off the pace
The United captain has been arguably his side’s best player since he joined in January 2020 and once again scored and assisted numerous goals last season.
The Portugal international continues to be an ever-present starting in all but one of United’s fixtures this season, but still came off the bench to add to two assists in the cup midweek.
As usual he was involved in some huge moments in the game but like most of the season to date, has struggled to find his finishing touch.
Fernandes still remains without a goal this season and looked off the pace for large parts of the match.
He regularly gave the ball away and his first touch often let him down in key moments.
His most profligate moment came in the second half when after a lovely move, he found himself with only Dean Henderson to beat but he over-complicated the finish, trying to find the right hand side of the net with the outside of his foot when he would have probably been better served putting his foot through the ball.
Nobody can ever question Bruno’s commitment to the cause and he will almost certainly find form in front of goal soon but his continued wastefulness will certainly be a concern to his manager.
Christian Eriksen’s importance
The Dane came off the back of an impressive two goal performance during the week and continued to dictate play for United today.
Eriksen’s ability to progress the ball and pick out a pass helped United look dangerous in attack and they carved out numerous chances.
When he left the pitch midway through the second half, United continued to keep the ball but looked a lot more toothless in possession, and Palace actually looked the more likely to score late on.
Gone were the quick one-twos and combination play and Ten Hag’s side reverted back to longer balls over the top and more static forward play.
It is an interesting twist of events as it was thought that Eriksen had no future at the club this summer but it has become apparent that his influence can still be heavily felt on how the Red Devils want to play.
Feature image Harriet Lander via Getty Images
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2024-09-21 18:35:00
