Erik ten Hag never takes the easy route. The Manchester United manager had praised Marcus Rashford's enhanced attitude but relegated him to the bench, only to see his substitute, Alejandro Garnacho, struggle against the exceptional Dean Henderson, who was in top form against his ex-club. By the time Rashford entered the field in the second half, Crystal Palace, displaying an unusually lackluster performance, had finally roused themselves, and United required a spectacular double save from André Onana to avert a second consecutive defeat against Oliver Glasner's team.
This match was a significant improvement from the 4-0 debacle in May, one of the lowlights of last season under Ten Hag, with United's defense holding strong under late pressure. Despite commending Rashford for his three goals in the previous two games, it was unexpected to see Garnacho favored in United's sole change from the victory over Southampton last Saturday. Ten Hag explained that Rashford's omission was "not a difficult decision because we need to rotate," as they also welcomed back Mason Mount and Rasmus Højlund to a robust substitutes' bench featuring nine internationals.
This was a stark contrast to United's last visit 138 days ago, when they had two goalkeepers and four players without a senior appearance. Much has transformed at Palace since that victory spurred by Michael Olise, with the France forward excelling for his new team, Bayern Munich, in a 5-0 win over Wolfsburg on Saturday. Glasner introduced new signing Daichi Kamada into midfield to replace the injured Cheick Doucouré, while Eddie Nketiah was tasked with filling Olise's shoes after scoring his first Palace goal against QPR in the EFL Cup.
United appeared determined to continue from where they left off in the 7-0 thrashing of Barnsley in midweek and would have taken the lead within the first 15 minutes if not for Henderson. The Palace goalkeeper, who spent eight years at Old Trafford, initially thwarted Garnacho after a clever pass from Joshua Zirkee, then denied Matthijs de Ligt's header and a near-post effort from Lisandro Martínez in quick succession as Palace's defense faltered.
The hosts found it difficult to establish any rhythm as Kobbie Mainoo and Christian Eriksen dominated midfield, with Glasner expressing his frustrations on the sidelines. They narrowly escaped when Maxence Lacroix was guilty of ball-watching, allowing Diogo Dalot to set up Garnacho. His shot ricocheted off the crossbar and fell to Bruno Fernandes, but the United captain's volley hit the ground and struck the same spot. Zirkzee then saw a cross from Fernandes deflected away from Garnacho at the back post with an open goal in sight.
Palace managed their first shot on target two minutes before halftime, but Eberechi Eze's effort was directly at Onana. Glasner decided to replace Jean-Philippe Mateta and the struggling Adam Wharton, who has been using painkillers to manage a groin injury, for the second half, and Palace immediately looked more dangerous. De Ligt had to slide in to stop Eze after a brilliant pirouette and a smart one-two with Nketiah.
A flowing move initiated by Mainoo for United concluded with Fernandes shooting just wide with the outside of his boot. The stage seemed set for Rashford when he replaced Zirkzee just after the hour mark, but it was Garnacho who next tested Henderson after being set up by Dalot. United owed their goalkeeper a debt of gratitude when Onana made a brilliant recovery after saving Nketiah's shot to block Ismaïla Sarr's follow-up from close range.
The Senegal forward could hardly believe his luck, but it was his awareness that set up Eze minutes later, only for his shot to miss Onana's post. Højlund was given the final 15 minutes on his return from a hamstring injury, although neither side appeared capable of finding the breakthrough, prolonging Palace's search for their first win of the new campaign.
