Why Manchester United substitutes failed to have an impact vs Crystal Palace

Rashford replaced Zirkzee
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Erik ten Hag credited Crystal Palace coach Oliver Glasner with nullifying Manchester United in the second half of their goalless draw.

United created chances galore in a dominant first half, drawing four saves from Dean Henderson and hitting the woodwork twice, but their goal threat significantly subsided after the interval.

Ten Hag replaced Joshua Zirkzee with Marcus Rashford on the hour and sent on Manuel Ugarte and Rasmus Hojlund in the 76th minute but United failed to create any more clear-cut opportunities. Palace had the best openings when Eberechi Eze side-footed wide and Andre Onana pulled off a stunning double save from Eddie Nketiah and Ismaila Sarr.

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"Sure, you hope that they have an impact," Ten Hag said of the substitutes. "They come fresh from the bench and the opponent is tired but the approach of the opponent changed in the second half. They were much more aggressive, also tactically they closed much better the second part of the second half, they closed much better the midfield areas.

"So it was more difficult for us to create chances and they had some good chances in counter attacks."

United have won two, lost two and drawn one from their opening five Premier League fixtures, with Tottenham due at Old Trafford next Sunday.

Although United have accrued a disappointing seven points, it has been widely recognised that their performance level and style have improved on the chaos of last season.

"The performance is good but the score, we are not happy," Ten Hag said of the 0-0 at Palace. "We are disappointed with the score, it’s clear. But I know one thing for sure is in football: there is a long way to go. And when you play in the quality we now deliver then the points will come and the goals will come.

"It’s so different because now we can work on the team, we can build in structures because we have to play on the training pitch, we can bring out some consistency in selection.

"And that helps, of course, to bring the patterns in, the routines in, then you play better, take more control of the game and, as we did in the first half, dominate the game."