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Manchester United rued missing their chances and needed some heroics from goalkeeper Andre Onana as Crystal Palace earned a 0-0 draw on Saturday.
Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes hit the bar for the visitors in the first half and United dominated on a pitch where they had been thrashed 4-0 just four months ago.
But only a spectacular double save by Onana after the break prevented Palace from securing their first league win of the season.
With one point, United are in 11th place after winning just two of their first five games of the new Premier League season.
The humiliation of their last visit to Selhurst Park in May was the low point of a difficult season for United.
Many wondered if Erik ten Hag would ever referee another game, but a surprise victory in the FA Cup final against Manchester City gave the Dutchman a second chance.
The Red Devils arrived in south London on a high this time, having scored ten goals to beat Southampton 3-0 last week and thrashed Barnsley 7-0 in the League Cup during the week.
Marcus Rashford had ended a losing streak by scoring three times in those two games, but was surprisingly benched by Ten Hag.
However, the decision to keep Alejandro Garnacho on the left was well thought out, as the Argentine tore Palace to pieces early on without adding the finishing touches.
Former United goalkeeper Dean Henderson kept the Eagles in the game until half-time.
Garnacho’s performance was not enough to beat Henderson at his first big chance.
The English goalkeeper then parried Matthijs de Ligt’s downward header before Lisandro Martinez had another clear chance, shooting straight at Henderson.
When the visitors hit the crossbar twice within seconds, United knew they were out of luck.
Garnacho sprinted towards Diogo Dalot’s precise pass and fired the ball into the crossbar before Fernandes’ follow-up shot also hit the crossbar.
For all their dominance, Ten Hag’s men could have fallen behind at half-time had Eberechi Eze made more of Palace’s first clear goal-scoring opportunity than a tame effort into the arms of Onana.
Palais boss Oliver Glasner reacted with a double substitution at half-time.
England international Adam Wharton and last season’s top scorer Jean-Philippe Mateta were sacrificed for Jefferson Lerma and Ismaila Sarr, making for a far more competitive second half.
After a nice one-two with Joshua Zirkzee, Fernandes was again just centimeters away from the goal, but the bold shot from outside the box flew wide.
But only a moment of magic from Onana prevented United from suffering their third defeat in five league games this season.
The former Ajax Amsterdam goalkeeper crouched well to parry Eddie Nketiah’s long-range shot and then jumped up to prevent Sarr from slotting home the rebound.
Palace had another huge chance to secure all three points when Eze fired wide of the wide open goal from close range.
A draw leaves Palace in 16th place, but United will be more frustrated at missing the chance to build momentum with three wins in eight days.
kca/dj
