“Either they sell him or me because I can’t just play together with him…I would have scored that goal but he opted to pass it back to Onana”: Joshua Zirkzee furious at teammate who opted to pass ball back to Onana instead of assisting him to score yesterday
Manchester United’s winning streak is halted at two after a row of missed chances let them ruing their luck as they drew away at Crystal Palace 0-0.
United started strong out of the blocks and created a barrage of chances in the first half, with both Garnacho and Fernandes hitting the bar.
Unfortunately, it looked like United had their fill of goals in the midweek, as every chance was spurned to go into half-time 0-0.
The general level of play remained encouraging, and the chances kept coming, but the best save of the second half actually went to Onana, who managed a remarkable double stop to keep the game level.
And level it would remain till 90 as United were left to rue missed chances on a day where Erik ten Hag can take a lot of positives from their gameplay.
Here’s how the players rated:
Andre Onana – 7
Had nothing to do in the first half barring an Eze shot straight at him. Came alive in the second to make a ridiculous double stop on pure reflexes. Radiates confidence now.
Noussair Mazraoui – 7.5
Remarkable how quickly he has become another “Mr Dependable” at Old Trafford. Goes about his job with minimum fuss, contributes in attack, calm on the ball, stout in defence.
Matthijs de Ligt – 7
He’s improving game-by-game and that’s a scary sight for the rest of the Premier League. Commanding in defence, aerial threat in attack, and an emerging leader.
Lisandro Martinez – 7
Had a surprise chance in the box to put United in the lead but was repelled by Dean Henderson. Confident in defence.
Diogo Dalot – 8
Is there a bigger success story under Erik ten Hag? Sensational again in the inverted full-back role. So good that Ten Hag might be averse to getting a traditional left-footer there!
Christian Eriksen – 7
There were doubts over his selection against a physical Palace but went about his job well, moving the ball forward and quickly. Brings a massive improvement in set-pieces which is an added bonus.
Kobbie Mainoo – 6.5
When the team is on the top and it allows him options to play forward and run with it, he looks different class. The midweek rest did him a world of good.
Bruno Fernandes – 6.5
Created a great chance for Zirkzee/Garnacho with a searching ball from the right wing in the first half. Hit the bar on a volley. Some sloppiness in passing.
Amad – 7
Always feels like something will happen when he has the ball. Goes out wide, cuts inside, and just an all-around nightmare to defend against.
Alejandro Garnacho – 6.5
This rating is a victim of his own success. Making great runs which puts him in brilliant positions to score but fluffed multiple great chances when he was there. United should have been out of sight in the first half itself.
Joshua Zirkzee – 6.5
With an attack-minded forward setup around him, his link-up play comes to the fore. Created a great chance for Garnacho and just about scored with one of his own.
Substitutes
Marcus Rashford – 6
Came to play on the left after scoring twice as the striker midweek. Couldn’t do much as Palace improved on their first-half display.
Manuel Ugarte – 6
Gave away a couple of cheap fouls after coming on but never stopped trying to progress the ball forward. Encouraging cameo.
Rasmus Hojlund – 6
Visibly rusty on comeback but offers more directness and scoring threat than Zirkzee which United will definitely be using as the season goes on.
