Ole: We were a bit off

After being held by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, the Reds played out another 0-0, this time against Crystal Palace whose dogged defending made it another frustrating evening.

Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Nemanja Matic all went close in the opening period, but thereafter United struggled to find our rhythm in attack and everyone was relieved to see Dean Henderson make an excellent stop from Patrick van Aanholt in the final stages.

Here's what Ole had to say in his post-match interviews with MUTV and Sky Sports...

WE WERE A BIT OFF
"[It was] Disappointing. Just a little bit off and I think I said to you before the game when you’re off and not spot on you’re not going to win games. Palace are a side that always make it hard for you and they did again. In the first half we were too slow to start with. They had a bright start. We played well for a little spell, but couldn’t score the goal. In the second half we never got going. We made some changes and we had one or two decent opportunities, but not enough of course. We had a couple of moments but we didn't take them. They didn't have much either. It was a game that probably deserved to be a draw and none of us probably deserved to score. That's sometimes just the way it works out. We didn't find the quality that we normally see because we know the attitude and the approach to the game is right."

MISSING GOALS IN THE LAST WEEK
"The last week has been three games, we haven't conceded, we haven't scored, but we're talking about a week in a year that has been so strange and so demanding with all the games we have played and all the recovery and training, everything we have done. If all we have to worry about is one week during a season, that's not too bad. We kept giving the ball away. There were times in the first half when we had some crisp passing and players in the right positions with simple passes, but quality passes, and we built some pressure and had some half-decent chances. Marcus [Rashford] had a good chance in the first half with some good play, but we kept giving it away easily and then you don’t build momentum and that’s the game you get."

QUALITY AND TEMPO WASN'T THERE
"Sometimes it’s human nature, sometimes you don’t work at your best and today we didn’t unfortunately. It’s been a long season… I’m not going to put any blame on that because everyone has got the same season. That’s part of it. You’re playing against a good team that make you play the way they want you to at times and when you don’t have the quality and tempo we should have had."

I THANK DEAN FOR THE POINT
"That’s [how it is for] a Man United goalkeeper sometimes, you have to keep your concentration and he’s growing into that position. It was a great save, I didn’t know if the player was off [side] or not, but Dean showed good concentration and good reactions so I thank him for one point and not zero, well done."

NO RETURN DATE FOR DE GEA
"No that’s a private matter. It’ll take the time that it takes."

WE'LL KEEP FIGHTING
"It’s not what we want but that’s football. We’re in the Premier League and you have to play better to win games. We know we’re in a battle to be as high in the table as possible and we’ve seen other results sometimes go like we don’t expect. We know we’re in a fight and we need to pick up every point we can."

MANCHESTER DERBY NEXT UP
"The attitude, the approach, everyone here is giving everything they've got. That's the brilliant thing with these boys, they always give everything so don't worry about not getting going. We're getting going and of course, there's extra spice when there's a derby. And the little bit of frustration or disappointment or feeling sorry for themselves tonight, that will come back to motivation and inspiration for the next game because when you play them, you know that means a lot for us and that means a lot for the fans, and we're going to give everything."