Crystal Palace 0-0 Man Utd: Player ratings as dominant Red Devils held to draw

Manchester United failed to make their dominance count as they were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The Red Devils produced arguably their best performance of the season in the first half and could have easily been three or four goals ahead at the break. Dean Henderson in the Palace goal was excellent and worked tirelessly to keep United out.

Palace had a handful of bright moments and could have stolen three points with two Ebere Eze chances, but the two sides could not be separated.

How the game unfolded

It took ten minutes for the first chance of the game to arise. Alejandro Garnacho was played in behind by Joshua Zirkzee but former United man Dean Henderson was equal to his low effort, palming the ball away from danger.

Henderson had to be alert to deny Matthijs de Ligt soon after. An unmarked header from a corner needed blocking by the Palace stopper, who had to deny Lisandro Martinez soon after in a busy start to the game.

With 27 minutes on the clock, United fans were left wondering how they had not opened the scoring. Garnacho bent a sumptuous effort off the crossbar, before the rebound was volleyed against the upright as well by Bruno Fernandes.

Zirkzee was the next to try his luck. He rose comfortably higher than any Palace defender to meet a corner, only to send his effort well wide of the goal when he perhaps should have scored.

Fernandes' low cross caused all sorts of problems and Henderson had to turn a flick from Zirkzee round his post as Garnacho dived in to try and get the touch needed to convert, with United struggling to turn their dominance into goals.

Against the run of play, Palace perhaps should have taken a lead into the break. On their first foray into the United box, Ebere Eze collected a cut-back but sent a tame effort into the grateful hands of Andre Onana.

Fernandes poked wide with the outside of his boot as United maintained their momentum in the second half, and Henderson's busy evening resumed with an acrobatic stop to deny Garnacho from range.

Down the other end, Onana was finally called into action. A low save from Eddie Nketiah was followed by a truly outstanding second from Ismaila Sarr. A double save that rivalled David Raya's heroics for Arsenal against Atalanta.

Eze missed another great chance on a rare counter. The Palace playmaker found an inch of space in the box but bent his first-time effort the wrong side of Onana's post.

The hosts finally grew into the game for the final 20 minutes, with United losing some of their cutting edge in the final third as a result, but there were to be no more sights of goal as the two sides had to settle for a share of the spoils.

Crystal Palace player ratings (3-4-2-1)

GK: Dean Henderson - 8/10 - While none of his saves were particularly outstanding, Henderson was incredibly busy as he flew around his goal trying to keep United out.

CB: Maxence Lacroix - 5/10 - Couldn't keep up with Garnacho whatsoever in the first half. Looked to settle down slightly after the break.

CB: Marc Guehi - 6/10 - Visibly frustrated at the lack of help around him. Did what he could.

CB: Chris Richards - 5/10 - Really poor distribution out the back. Sent plenty of aimless long balls forwards.

RM: Daniel Munoz - 5/10 - Tried to get involved in attack but offered very little and then found himself scrambling to get back to deal with Garnacho.

CM: Adam Wharton - 4/10 - Whether it was a tactical issue or an individual one, Wharton just couldn't keep up with United's midfielders and was hooked at the break.

CM: Daichi Kamada - 5/10 - Looked lost in this midfield pivot, but improved when allowed to push further forwards.

LM: Tyrick Mitchell - 6/10 - Defended deep and kept Amad frustrated. Unspectacular but reliable.

AM: Ebere Eze - 5/10 - Found it hard to get into the game in the first half. Should've done better with two outstanding chances.

AM: Eddie Nketiah - 6/10 - Put in a shift trying to make things happen, but just didn't get the luck he needed.

ST: Jean-Philippe Mateta - 5/10 - A physical threat but had to feed off scraps.

Substitutes

SUB: Jefferson Lerma (46' for Wharton) - 6/10

SUB: Ismaila Sarr (46' for Mateta) - 6/10

SUB: Will Hughes (66' for Nketiah) - 6/10

SUB: Jeffrey Schlupp (90' for Eze) - N/A

Subs not used: Matt Turner (GK), Joel Ward, Nathaniel Clyne, Asher Agbinone, Franco Umeh-Chibueze

Manager

Oliver Glasner - 5/10 - Palace were woeful for large parts of this game but, to Glasner's credit, his substitutions did provide improvement.

Man Utd player ratings (4-2-3-1)

GK: Andre Onana - 7/10 - Barely tested aside from an unbelievable double save.

RB: Noussair Mazraoui - 8/10 - A really impressive performance down the right. Held his own defensively and stood strong under pressure.

CB: Matthijs de Ligt - 7/10 - An early scare from Mateta but recovered quickly. Proved to be a real threat attacking corners.

CB: Lisandro Martinez - 7/10 - Composed and relaxed in everything he did, without ever really needing to get out of second gear.

LB: Diogo Dalot - 8/10 - Played an inverted role in midfield and pulled the strings with real ease.

DM: Christian Eriksen - 7/10 - Sprayed some nice passes around but almost didn't even need to get out of second gear.

DM: Kobbie Mainoo - 7/10 - In the battle of Mainoo vs Wharton, the United youngster came out on top with ease.

RM: Amad Diallo - 7/10 - Made plenty of smart runs but was locked in a tough battle with Mitchell.

AM: Bruno Fernandes - 7/10 - Involved in nearly everything positive, picking some lovely passes in behind Palace's back line.

LM: Alejandro Garnacho - 7/10 - An absolute menace who should have had at least a goal or two. Some excellent runs.

ST: Joshua Zirkzee - 7/10 - Dropped deep to help feed passes forwards to the onrushing Garnacho and Amad. A selfless performance.

SUB: Marcus Rashford (61' for Zirkzee) - 6/10

SUB: Manuel Ugarte (76' for Eriksen) - 6/10

SUB: Rasmus Hojlund (76' for Amad) - 6/10

Subs not used: Altay Bayindir (GK), Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans, Casemiro, Mason Mount, Antony

Erik ten Hag - 7/10 - United were far better than this scoreline would suggest and comfortably deserved the win. Questions will, however, be asked about his decision to bench the in-form Rashford.