Alejandro Garnacho made his second Premier League start of the season
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said his side "ate Crystal Palace alive" as they missed a number of big chances in their goalless draw at Selhurst Park in the Premier League.
Fresh from their 7-0 EFL Cup win over Barnsley on Tuesday, Ten Hag's side cut Palace open at will in a dominant first half.
Alejandro Garnacho, who returned to the starting XI in place of Marcus Rashford, had an early effort tipped round the post, before Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez were denied by the feet of home goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
The visitors continued to pile on the pressure with Garnacho sweeping against the bar after being played in down the left.
The rebound fell for Bruno Fernandes, who was often the orchestrator of all good by the Reds, but his effort bounced off the turf before clipping the top of the bar.
"We should have won. In the first half, we ate them alive," Ten Hag told Sky Sports.
"The second half it was more in the balance but first half, we should have scored one or two goals.
"The only thing was in the box, that is where the game is always decided. We should be more clinical there."
Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, Ten Hag added: "The performance is good, but for a performance you don’t get points. You have to score a goal."
Palace eventually grew into the half and came closest when Eberechi Eze slotted into the hands of Andre Onana when unmarked on the penalty spot.
The second half was more even. Fernandes curled wide before a Garnacho effort was tipped round the post.
At the other end, Eddie Nketiah had an effort tipped back into danger by Onana, but the rebound was superbly clawed behind by the Reds keeper.
The best chance of the half fell to Eze, though, with the England forward inexcusably missing the target when unmarked from 12 yards.
The video assistant referee also cleared a second-half challenge by Martinez, with the Argentina defender leaving the ground and lunging in two-footed, but no contact was made with Daichi Kamada.
The point leaves United 11th and Palace still winless in 16th.
Same old story for United
Crystal Palace 0-0 Man Utd: You don't get points for performance - Ten Hag
During their journey back to Manchester Ten Hag will reflect and feel this is a game his side should have won.
There were positives - their 66.8% share of possession was their most in an away game since April 2023, for example.
However, old weaknesses were glaringly obvious again.
While no gilt-edged chances were missed, the United boss will feel his side created more than enough to take the three points.
Martinez will believe he should have scored after the ball fell kindly from a corner, while Garnacho and particularly Fernandes will rue hitting the woodwork.
United have the second-highest xG (expected goals) in the league, at 9.53 from their opening five games, but have only managed to score five times.
Only Southampton, who sit 18th, are underperforming their xG by more.
One positive for United was the return of Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund from injury.
The 21-year-old came off the bench late in the second half for his first appearance of the season - and adds to the options available to Ten Hag alongside Netherlands striker Joshua Zirkzee, who was well marshalled by the Palace defence.
Palace resilient but lack cutting edge
Crystal Palace 0-0 Man Utd: Glasner says 'Palace very passive'
Oliver Glasner’s side could, and perhaps should, have been trailing by a considerable margin after the opening half an hour.
They struggled to get a foothold in the game, often camped deep in their own half, and were indebted to Henderson for some brilliant reaction saves to deny Martinez and De Ligt.
The Eagles were stronger as the game progressed, and will feel they created the better opportunities on reflection.
Eze's two unmarked chances - one in each half - should have resulted in at least one goal, while Sarr will replay his miss over and over again.
He had to readjust his body quickly after Onana’s parry back into the penalty area, and was unable to lift over the Reds keeper - who leapt to his left and raised his left arm brilliantly to turn behind for a corner.
A first league win awaits but three draws in a row, and progression in the EFL Cup, shows Palace are settling into the season after losing Michael Olise to Bayern Munich and Joachim Andersen to Fulham.
Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, Glasner said: "Dean Henderson kept us alive and in the first half we have never played like this.
"We played without courage in and out of possession. Very passive and this is how we don't want to play, but it happened.
"Second half was much better, we could've won the game, but honestly it was a bit too much today."
Player of the match
After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.
