Manchester United missed the chance to close the gap to the Premier League’s top four as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Both teams saw goals disallowed in an eventful stalemate which saw the Eagles leave with their first ever Premier League point from a visit to the Theatre of Dreams.
United were bright in the opening 10 minutes, as Jesse Lingard tried to add to his recent England goals with a 20-yard shot that was blocked by the sliding James Tomkins.
Palace did not take long to settle into the game and began to give as good as they got, with former United winger Wilfried Zaha shooting over the crossbar and narrowly wide within the space of a couple of minutes.
Zaha also played a role in supplying Patrick van Aanholt with arguably the best chance of the game, teeing up the unmarked Dutchman 15 yards out but he scuffed his right-footed shot wide at the end of a flowing counter.
The hosts did not test Wayne Hennessey until the half-hour mark, and then did so twice in a matter of moments.
The Palace goalkeeper reacted well to get down to Jesse Lingard’s effort from Ashley Young’s low cross, and then was back on his feet quickly to save from Anthony Martial’s header.
Chris Smalling also came close for United when heading wide from a difficult angle at the back post on 40 minutes, but it was the Eagles who may have considered themselves unlucky not to be ahead at the interval.
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