Manchester United have failed to score a goal in their last three games in all competitions. On Saturday at the Selhurst Park, they were held to their third consecutive 0-0 draw. Louis Van Gaal will be devastated as his team have not played as he would have liked. Alan Pardew on the other hand will consider his team un-lucky as they could have easily put the game to bed with the number of chances they got.
Here are the player ratings for this game.
Crystal Palace:
Wayne Hennessey (3): Was solid in his penalty area and was alert to the situation whenever needed. Will be happy with his clean sheet.
Martin Kelly (3): Kept the likes of Martial quiet for most of the game down the flank and also provided width in the attack constantly.
Scott Dann (3.5): The ex-Everton player was at his best at the back giving United very little in front of the box. He was also a constant threat in set pieces for the home team.
Damien Delaney (3): Stuck to his task pretty well without much fuzz as he had a good day at the back.
Joel Ward (2.5): The right back was full of energy as he was always available in attacks but he was too often caught out of position in defense.
Yohan Cabaye (3.5): The impact player for Pardew as did a great job of defending in front of the back four and spreading the ball out wide when in the counter.
James McArthur (3): McArthur provided the calming influence that was needed in the mid-field for Palace as he went about his game with minimal fuzz.
Wilfried Zaha (3): Was full of energy and running down the flank and also linked well with his offensive players. But often lacked the final ball needed to unlock the defenses.
Jason Puncheon (3): Puncheon played a clever game against United as he held the ball up to let the players around him make runs and get space for himself. This was the weakness that Pardew wanted his team to exploit against United.
Yannick Bolasie (4): Bolasie showed in this game why many Premier League giants are after him. He showed skill and speed and ran the United defenses ragged but was unlucky to not have not been able to break the dead-lock.
Dwight Gayle (2.5): Had a game in which nothing was going right. Made some good runs but hardly had an effort on goal.
SUBS:
Mile Jedinak (2.5)
Manchester United:
David de Gea (3): Was tested time and again in the first half but was up-to the task whenever called upon.
Matteo Darmian (2): A horrifying day for the wing back as he was often over run by the Palace wingers. Picked a booking and was substituted.
Chris Smalling (2.5): Not a confident game at in defense as he was caught out of position many times. Also picked up a booking.
Daley Blind (2.5): Was not too bad in defending the like of Gayle but needs to do a lot more to help his club set up attacks from the back.
Marcos Rojo (2): Was put under immense pressure by Palace for the whole game. Crosses came in numbers from the flank that put pressure on the defense.
Morgan Schneiderlin (2.5): A quiet game in the middle of the park as he rarely did anything to help United score.
Bastian Schweinsteiger (2.5): Was often needed in front of the back four in defense for United. Hardly had a chance to create something up-front.
Ander Herrera (2.5): Played a number 10 role that just did not suit him. Was unable to create chances even when he had time on the ball.
Juan Mata (3): A bright spot for United in this game. Mata was good on the day as he put in cross after cross but United failed to make any of those chances count.
Anthony Martial (3.5): Played on the flank and was a constant threat to the Palace back four.
Wayne Rooney (2): Hardly did anything positive in the game as he looked dull and lethargic for most of the game.
SUBS:
Ashley Young (2.5)
Marouane Fellaini (2.5)
Jesse Lingard (3)