Talking Points: Palace v United
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his Manchester United players were left frustrated at Selhurst Park as the Reds were held to another goalless draw.
During a very misty 90 minutes, the Reds dominated the first half and went close through Mason Greenwood and a deflected Nemanja Matic shot, while United were thankful to Dean Henderson late on when he made a superb point-blank stop from Patrick van Aanholt.
Here, we round-up the main talking points from Selhurst Park...
CLEAN SHEET FOR DEAN
Dean Henderson started between the posts after David De Gea missed the match due to personal reasons and the 23-year-old stopper recorded another clean sheet, thanks in the main to a vital stop late on from Patrick van Aanholt. The Palace defender got in behind former Eagles man Aaron Wan-Bissaka and found himself with just Henderson to beat, but our no.26 came out of his goal and blocked brilliantly with his legs. This was Henderson’s 14th run-out for the Reds this term and it was clean sheet number eight for the England international.
Crystal Palace 0 Manchester United 0
ArticleThe Reds are held to a third consecutive goalless draw, this time on a misty night in south London.
REDS STAY SECOND
While the Reds will ultimately be disappointed to be held to another goalless draw, Leicester’s 1-1 draw at Burnley earlier means we remain second and a point ahead of the Foxes. Our fine away record continues - we have become only the fifth top-flight side to avoid defeat in the opening 14 league matches of a season - but Ole and his men will be hugely frustrated with too many draws of late.
14 - Manchester United are the fifth team to remain unbeaten in their first 14 away top-flight matches in a season (W8 D6), after Leeds United in 1973-74, Liverpool in 1987-88 and Arsenal in both 2001-02 and 2003-04. Solace. pic.twitter.com/eYiHWie4OC
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 3, 2021
COACHING STAFF RETURN
Ole confirmed on Tuesday that his coaching staff were back at the Aon Training Complex after a period of self-isolation and it was great to see the likes of Mike Phelan, Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna back on the bench alongside Ole. The boss was keen to praise the work done by fellow coaches including Nicky Butt, Mark Dempsey and Alan Fettis for the last few games, while the first-team staff were temporarily absent.
FOOTBALL IN THE FOG
It’s no lie to say at times it was difficult to see from one side of the pitch to the other at Selhurst Park. The game started with some fog and mist hovering over the stadium and by the end of the 90 minutes some players were barely visible from distance.
REDS MAINTAIN REGAL RUN
It will be little consolation for the Reds right now, but we kept up an impressive record against Palace at Selhurst Park. As confirmed by Opta, United have never lost in 12 Premier League away games against the Eagles, the most one side has played at another without ever losing in the competition (W8 D4).
Pics from Palace
GalleryBrowse the best match photos from our league visit to Selhurst Park.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Reds will be glad of a break from travelling to London after two visits in four days to play Chelsea and Palace. United are on the road again this weekend but much closer to home, with a trip across town to come on Sunday afternoon, for the small matter of a Manchester derby. Ole’s men will be determined to cut into City’s lead at the Premier League summit and ensure we keep the pressure on at the top.