Premier League 2024-25: Manchester United Settle For 0-0 Draw in Selhurst Park

Manchester United drops points against Crystal Palace after striking the crossbar on a couple of occasions in the Premier League 2024-25.

Erik Ten Haag’s men traveled to Selhurst Park for their upcoming Premier League match against Crystal Palace. Fresh from the 7–0 win against Barnsley in the Carabou Cup, the Red Devils looked to seal three points. Although Erik Ten Haag’s men dominated the match, they failed to break the deadlock. Let us have a look at what went down in Selhurst Park.

First Half

The first half of this Premier League clash started on a very positive note for the Red Devils as Christian Eriksen’s ball was headed on target by Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt, but the ball was collected by former United goalkeeper Dean Henderson. After seven minutes, United’s Alejandro Garnacho was fed a through but his shot was again saved by Henderson.

At the mark of the 27th minute, Manchester United came closest to breaking the deadlock with Alejandro Garnacho hitting the woodwork after a sensational ball played in by Diogo Dalot. Bruno Fernandez went for the ball in the rebound but his shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out for a goal kick. The Eagles were saved again by Dean Henderson after he denied Joshua Zirkee a goal.

After the end of the first half, Manchester United had the majority of the ball (66%) than the hosts (34%) in the Premier League clash. The Red Devils ended the first half with an xG (expected goals) of 1.42, with a total of 9 shots, out of which, only 5 bothered Dean Henderson. On the other hand, Crystal Palace had an xG of 0.17, with a total of 2 shots, of which, one hit the target.

Second Half

The second half kicked off in a similar fashion for the visitors as at the mark of the 53rd minute, Bruno Fernandez and Joshua Zirkee built up a wonderful attack but the United skipper’s shot just missed the target by a whisker. In the 62nd minute, Henderson came to the Eagle’s rescue yet again as he did enough to keep Alejandro Garnacho’s curling shot out of the net.

The biggest chance for the host came at the mark of the 65th minute with Eddie Nketiah’s left-footed strike from 18 yards was saved by André Onana. Ismaïla Sarr went for the follow-up but the Cameroonian goalkeeper’s double save kept the ball out of the net. Seven minutes later, Eberechi Eze was presented with one more chance to break the deadlock, but his shot went narrowly wide.

At the end of 90 minutes, there was nothing to separate Manchester United from Crystal Palace in their Premier League match as both teams had to settle for a goalless draw, with both Dean Henderson and André Onana saving the day for the hosts and the visitors. This was the 4th goalless result for Manchester United after the appointment of Erik Ten Haag.

Lineups

Crystal Palace: Dean Henderson; Chris Richards, Marc Guéhi, Maxence Lacroix; Daniel Muñoz, Daichi Kamada, Adam Wharton (Jefferson Lerma, 46’), Tyrick Mitchell; Eddie Nketiah (Will Hughes, 66’), Eberechi Eze (Jeffrey Schlupp, 91’); Jean-Philippe Mateta (Ismaïla Sarr, 46’).

Manchester United: André Onana; Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs De Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, Diogo Dalot; Kobbie Mainoo, Christian Eriksen (Manuel Ugarte, 76’); Amad Diallo (Rasmus Højlund, 76’), Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho; Joshua Zirkzee (Marcus Rashford, 61’).