21 September 2024
Crystal Palace 0 Man Utd 0
The Eagles faced Man Utd at Selhurst Park after seven days which seems to be a reoccurring dream for Red Devils’ fans. Wins against Southampton and Barnsley had their fanbase and pundits proclaiming that they were back once again. Crystal Palace were still looking for their first win of the season as they struggle to get out of the rut they find themselves in.
To the neutral or a fan of an opposing team, it can be almost comical how people react to any slither of form from Man Utd. As an outsider looking in, the team they crave returning to being no longer exists. Erik ten Hag is not the man to take them back to this fictional place and this squad cannot deliver these flights of fancy.
After a goal against The Saints last weekend and two midweek goals against League One Barnsley, Marcus Rashford found himself on the bench for this game. The visitors started positively and Garnacho was fed in with the goal in his sights. His left-footed shot seemed to be heading in the far corner but Johnstone made a good save to put it behind for a corner.
As United forced another corner, Eriksen’s cross found a completely unmarked De Ligt three yards from goal. Everyone expected to see the net bulge but the Dutch defender headed it straight at the Palace keeper who made the block, at the expense of another set piece. Erik ten Hag’s side were dominating in the capital.
Garnacho had another chance to score but his effort came back off the crossbar. Fernandes reacted quickest to the rebound but as he struck his volley into the ground, it bounced up and clipped the top of the woodwork as it headed over the goal. Two big chances for Man Utd to open the scoring against Oliver Glasner’s side.
Fernandes then whipped a teasing ball into the box which Zirkzee diverted towards goal. Garnacho slid in to try and score but made no contact whatsoever. Despite this, Johnstone had to be at full-stretch to turn it behind for a corner. Despite all their possession and chances, the visitors just did not seem to have that clinical edge in front of goal.
Crystal Palace had barely ventured forward but towards the end of the half Mitchell got down the wing and cut the ball back to Eze in the box. Completely unmarked and with plenty of time, The Eagles’ winger side-footed his shot straight at Onana in the visitors’ goal. You would expect a lot better from the England attacker.
Into the second-half Fernandes and Zirkzee exchanged a neat one-two on the edge of the box. The United skipper tried to bend one with the outside of his foot into the bottom corner. We have seen him do this on plenty of occasions but this time it went the wrong side of the post. At this point, you wondered if the visitors would pay the price for their wasteful nature in front of goal.
Ten Hag made some changes with Rashford joining the action. As his team continued to press, they were guilty of overcomplicating things. Trying too many passes and little flicks when they just needed to work some space to get a shot off at target. Palace then won the ball back and looked to counter-attack. Martinez then made possibly one of the most bizarre challenges of the season.
The Argentine defender jumped in the air and stamped down with both feet, like he was trying to flatten an empty box. The referee brandished a yellow card and VAR decided there was nothing to be done to change that. This is why every football fan wants to see the technology scrapped. He was not in control of his body and could have caused an opponent serious harm. You shouldn’t have to cause the damage to see appropriate action.
Instead of seeing red, the inconsistent officials let this one go. We all know how this will play out now. A day or two later PGMOL will release a statement that the referee made a mistake and by the letter of the law, Martinez should have been sent off. Despite this, David Coote will still have a Premier League match to officiate next week and nothing is being done to address the incompetency.
Crystal Palace came forward with Nketiah as he looked to drill one into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Onana got down to make a smart save and then, more impressively, got back to his feet to block the follow-up from Sarr. The Eagles had their heads in their hands, baffled as to how they had not just scored.
The hosts created another big chance as Eze and Sarr exchanged passes inside the box. The Eagles’ winger then should have scored, in front of goal with no pressure on him whatsoever. This time he put it just wide of the post. For all the chances Man Utd had wasted, there is no doubting that Eze had spurned the best two opportunities of the game.
Both sides had to settle for a share of the points, the most mind-bending thing was how this game ended up goalless. Eze may have had a sleepless night after missing several chances to win this game for his team. Erik ten Hag’s ‘Ajax 2.0’ failed to deliver once again. They look a completely different team when not playing League One opposition, that is for sure.
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