Manchester United was once again unimpressive in their home fixture against Crystal Palace. They already lost the derby match as Manchester City completely dominated them at the Etihad Stadium. The Red Devils are currently at the 7th place in the Premier League table with 14 points behind Manchester City.
Crystal Palace could have won
The performance of the Eagles was certainly commendable. They denied any goals for United and created many goal-scoring opportunities during the game. Crystal Palace could have come away with three points from Old Trafford.
Wilfried Zaha looked a constant threat for Manchester United. Cheikhou Kouyate even netted the ball in the first half but unfortunately, it was ruled offside. Patrick Van Anholt missed a chance in the first half by his wayward shot. While Townsend came very close to scoring in the second half only to miss his target in the end.
Lukaku’s poor form
Romelu Lukaku’s poor form continues as the Belgian once again failed to provide a goal for United. He has not been able to score a single goal since September. The United striker provided 4 goals in his first 5 games and has been suffering from a goal drought since then.
Jose Mourinho benched him in the Old Trafford encounter against Everton and then dropped him entirely for the Bournemouth fixture. The Belgian was again featured as a substitute in the important derby match. And though he was brought on early in the second half, he still could make a difference in the game. Compared to this season, Lukaku was doing far better in the previous season. He scored 27 goals overall for Manchester United in the last season.
Good result for Crystal Palace
Old Trafford has always been a difficult place to win for many Premier League teams. And Crystal Palace also did not have a good record at the Theatre of Dreams. The Eagles lost their previous 11 league visits to Old Trafford. Overall, they won only 7 matches against Manchester United and lost 36 matches.
Therefore, Crystal Palace should be happy with this result. They fought well and even could have won the match.