Manchester United lost further ground on the Premier League top four after they could only manage a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace at home on Saturday.
Despite having plenty of possession, United struggled to break down the visitors’ defence, and were perhaps lucky not to concede any goals on the counter, as Palace had some of the game’s best chances.
Here’s a look at how the players rated.
David De Gea 7 – Saved United’s blushes with a couple of excellent saves, and his distribution, which has been a talking point of late, was better than usual.
Matteo Darmian 6 – A decent performance for someone who’s spent so much time not playing this season. Though he showed some signs of rust, he was as dependable defensively, and sent in a couple of good crosses.
Chris Smalling 5 – Defended well, but missed a glorious first-half chance to score. Also showed why he isn’t in the England reckoning anymore, as his build-up play from the back was shoddy.
Victor Lindelof 6 – At this moment Lindelof is United’s best centre-back, and he delivered a largely solid display again on Saturday – especially at the end, when he put in a crucial tackle despite struggling with an injury.
Ashley Young 4 – A bad display from the United captain, who sent in poor cross after poor cross from the left flank and couldn’t beat his man when he tried attacking.
Nemanja Matic 6 – One of Matic’s better displays of the season. United’s set-up hung him out to dry a little, as he was often the only midfielder hanging back to deal with Palace’s counter-attacks.
On to the next one. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/hBqnMkFnMB
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) 24 November 2018
Paul Pogba 5 – Started off well, playing some raking long balls to set up attacks, but failed to have enough of an influence as the game wore on. Wasn’t surprising when he was subbed off.
Jesse Lingard 7 – Was among United’s busier players in the first half, but without doing much with his running and possession. Brought a couple of fine stops from Palace stopper Wayne Hennessey
Juan Mata 5 – One of Mata’s more disappointing displays, as despite seeing plenty of the ball there was little he could do with it.
Anthony Martial 7 – His streak of five straight league games with a goal came to an end, though he was United’s most effective player in attack. Could have done better with a second-half chance to score, shooting wide.
Romelu Lukaku 6 – Did find the back of the net, though his second-half tap-in was ruled out for offside. Was denied a goal with a superb save from Palace keeper Hennessey.
SUBSTITUTES
Marouane Fellaini 5 – An ineffective cameo from the Belgian, who offered little threat in attack. In his defence, he didn’t have the best service.
Marcus Rashford 7 – Showed industry with two quick tackles to launch a United counter, and came close to scoring another late winner.
Alexis Sanchez 6 – Sanchez was guilty of trying too hard after coming on, and missed one easy pass when United were countering. It was emblematic of his display.
