Louis van Gaal says it is sticks and stones that break his bones but a third 0-0 draw in succession might have tried his constitution. His Manchester United team continue to sap the morale of onlookers and this was another grinding, uninspired performance.
The good news for them was that it yielded a point because on another day they would have lost. Crystal Palace were the better, more purposeful team, aside from a spell towards the end of the first half, and their regrets centred upon the chances they passed up. Aside from a few flickers, most notably when Anthony Martial had an 89th-minute shot blocked by Damien Delaney, United barely threatened.
Palace were applauded off by their fans and it was easy to recognise their efforts. Their urgent opening featured Yannick Bolasie hitting the crossbar while they mustered a stirring finish, which was marked by a flurry of opportunities. The big one fell to Yohan Cabaye but, from an unmarked position, he hooked his volley wide of the far post.
Palace felt that they were robbed in this fixture last season, when United somehow scrambled to a 2-1 win, and the club’s 24-year wait for a league victory over them goes on. “United were really fortunate,” Alan Pardew, the Palace manager, said. Nobody could disagree.
Van Gaal’s team last scored, through Martial, in the 1-1 Champions League draw at CSKA Moscow and they have now been barren for 325 minutes, taking in the stalemates against Manchester City in the Premier League and Middlesbrough in the Capital One Cup, a tie that they lost after extra-time and penalties. United are the lowest scorers in the top six and with Wayne Rooney continuing to look isolated and starved of service up front, it is extremely difficult to make the case for them winning the title. Compared with City and Arsenal, they do not have the firepower.
Nor, it seems, do they have the desire to commit men forward. The travelling supporters implored the team to attack and they made the point that they were United, so that is what they ought to do. But there was precious little to excite them, particularly in the second half.
“Of course, I am concerned [about the lack of goals] but today, when you are not creating so many chances, I cannot complain,” Van Gaal said.
“Against Middlesbrough, I thought we created a lot and then it is more concerning. Nevertheless, we had chances today and you have to finish. But we were not the better team, and it would have been too much for us to win. It can change in one match and let it be against CSKA on Tuesday because we need a victory.”
Pardew was justifiably pleased with the performance of his players. After three straight defeats in all competitions, the intensity and what he called the “freshness” was back. Palace pressed high and hard, they dominated the first 20 minutes and they went close to taking the lead.
Bolasie’s shot from Scott Dann’s assist reared up and David de Gea had to show his reflexes to get his fingertips to it. The ball crashed to safety off the crossbar. United’s start was sloppy with the right-back, Matteo Darmian, guilty of a couple of errors and he needed De Gea to bail him out.
On the first occasion, De Gea saved low from Dwight Gayle. Dann also extended the goalkeeper from Cabaye’s corner.
United found a bit of rhythm, they worked their way into the first half and they had a few chances. Rooney curled a free-kick over the defensive wall that Wayne Hennessey dealt with comfortably while he narrowly failed to run on to Martial’s through-ball. Van Gaal was particularly unhappy when Ander Herrera fluffed a side-footer from Martial’s cut-back just before the interval.
It was a niggly encounter, peppered by fouls, yellow cards and arguments.
Pardew claimed United had targeted Cabaye, saying they fouled him repeatedly and that he was unhappy his senior players did not highlight it to the officials.
The excitement was provided by Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha, the unpredictable Palace wingers, and it was no surprise when Van Gaal withdrew Darmian, who had been booked for a block on Zaha.
The United fans continued to beg their players to attack in the second half but they laboured, their stutters summed up when Herrera got his wires crossed with Bastian Schweinsteiger on a rare break. Herrera was also guilty of going down too easily in search of a penalty.
It was Palace who should have nicked it. Cabaye sank to his knees after his 72nd-minute miss while Dann sent another header from a corner inches wide, with Delaney failing to touch home at the far post. James McArthur was denied by De Gea and Bolasie also went close at the very end.
