Erik's Reds must learn lesson from Palace

The way United performed in the first half was light years ahead of what we saw the last time the Reds took to the field at Selhurst Park, on the final day of the 2021/22 campaign, and were beaten as incoming boss Erik ten Hag could only watch from the stands.

The boss has transformed the side in his short tenure, thus far, and has been at pains to point out that the process still has some way to go yet. However, it was impossible not to get giddy after the sensational Manchester derby comeback victory.

The shoe-horning of a tricky trip to Palace in the middle of two huge fixtures was always going to be an obvious banana skin, and so it proved. But United were excellent in the first 45 minutes, fully deserving of the lead, and exerting the sort of control that totally snuffed out the home side, except for the one shot by Odsonne Edouard that forced a superb save out of David De Gea.

However, the thrust and purpose was lost in the second half, even if it looked like we would still be able to do enough to clinch three points to set us up nicely for the Arsenal game.

The lesson to be learned is that no game is ever won with a one-goal advantage, and certainly not at this level, when a moment of class can be provided by an opponent, as Michael Olise did with his free-kick, even if set-pieces always felt like the most dangerous situations on the night.

We have had to weather the storm late on several times this term, Southampton and Wolves spring to mind, and even recent home cup ties with Everton and Charlton Athletic were only put to bed in the closing stages.

So sitting back to protect narrow leads is a risky business, conceding set-plays in the dying seconds can also be avoidable, and inviting pressure, and the home support to rally their side, is not good for the blood pressure.

It is always instructive to hear from the manager afterwards and a big positive, for me, was he addressed this issue head-on. Other bosses often complain about refereeing and VAR decisions and offer excuses and, with Scott McTominay denied what looked a strong claim for a penalty, Erik could have been forgiven for following suit. Instead, he admitted to his team's shortcomings and said exactly what I wanted to hear.

"You have to accept the decisions from VAR, from the referees," he said. "I look in the mirror. I look to my team.

"I look to my own coaching and I say invest more for the second goal, then you avoid the situations where you are dependent on the referee.

"We have to invest more to get that second goal and then not be in that situation where an unlucky moment costs you two points," Ten Hag added.

"We were 1-0 up. In the second half, we had a lot of space to kill them and go for the second. But I never saw that we really went for the second goal."

Whether it was tiredness or even some kind of subconscious preserving of energy for the test at the Emirates Stadium, the second-half display was not up to scratch, and not in keeping with our sensational form since the restart. Just as there was no time to totally bask in the sweetest of derby victories, we cannot wallow over having two points snatched from us at the death in south London.

Once again, the manager said, in my view, exactly the right thing ahead of the challenge away to the league leaders. Instead of bemoaning the loss of key man Casemiro through suspension, an accident we all dreaded happening throughout the game, Erik highlighted the fact that we beat the Gunners without the brilliant Brazilian in the corresponding game at Old Trafford.

Such a positive approach has been a consistent part of the Dutchman's narrative, ever since he took charge, and I find it very refreshing. As disappointing as the late leveller was, you sense Ten Hag and his coaching team will use it to drill the lesson into their players even more that these games, particularly when we are clearly the superior team, are situations when the points must be made safe.

Yes, there is something to be said for grinding out victories and defending with your backs to the wall to see things out, particularly in terms of morale for the defensive players, but this game proved to be the one where we came unstuck.

With that match over, the focus switches to Sunday, and you can bet Ten Hag is already preparing his troops in the best way possible for taking on the title-chasing Gunners. I know I still have total trust in the process, probably even more so after hearing the boss speak post-match at Selhurst Park. He said exactly what I wanted to hear.

The opinions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Manchester United Football Club.