Advantage City as Manchester United stumble at Selhurst Park

Stalemate! Manchester United played out a goalless draw as fog descends on Selhurst Park on Wednesday in the English Premiership. (Photo cre...

Stalemate! Manchester United played out a goalless draw as fog descends on Selhurst Park on Wednesday in the English Premiership. (Photo credit: Premierleague.com)

Manchester United wobbled to yet another goalless draw after huffing and puffing to a boring stalemate against Crystal Palace on Wednesday at Selhurst Park.

Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s side lacked the cutting edge as Palace sat deep and absolved everything thrown at them; the clash could have been postponed after fog took over the pitch but the two sides managed to see it through.

The result left United second on 51 points from 27 games, 14 behind runaway leaders Manchester City ahead of the Manchester derby on Sunday while Palace stayed 13th on 34 points and would celebrate the point earned on the foggy night.

"It's disappointing. We were just a little bit off. If you're not spot on you won't win games. Palace always make it hard for you," United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said after the match."

After goalless stalemates at Chelsea on Sunday and against Real Sociedad, which completed a 4-0 aggregate win over the Spanish side in the Europa League last Thursday, a weary-looking United lacked edge again.

 

"In the second half we never got going.”Sometimes it's human nature, sometimes you don't work at your best. Today we didn't. It's been a long season - I'm not blaming that because everyone has the same season. You're playing against a good team who make you play the way they want to," Solksjaer added.

Edison Cavani was handed a shock start after missing the last four games with a muscle injury and he spurned a gilt-edged chance in the 14th minute when he skied a close-range shot over the bar.

 

Nemanja Matic drew a sensational save from Vincente Guita and Marcus Rashford also went close for United in the first half before a superb Joel Ward clearance denied Cavani a tap-in from three meters in the 44th minute.

 

Andros Townsend fired just wide for Palace on the hour and the home side then missed the game's best chance in the 90th minute as Dean Henderson kept out Patrick van Aanholt who was one-on-one with the United goalkeeper.

 

"That's a Man United goalkeeper, sometimes you have to keep concentrating. He's growing in that position. I thank him for one point and not zero," Solskjaer said, adding that David De Gea’s absence was due to a personal matter.