Manchester United

Henry Brownsey
BBC Sport journalist

Erik ten Hag has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Europa League opener against FC Twente (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• There are no new injury worries and there will be "no difference" to the squad that travelled to Crystal Palace. He is hopeful Luke Shaw will be back before the international break but cannot be sure.

• He believes that qualifying for the Champions League by winning the Europa League is harder than finishing in the top four: "It's an opportunity. There are more roads to achieve the target we want. This is probably the most difficult - you have to be the best."

• On the fixture schedule for his side: "There are too many games - it's clear, too many competitions. Top players are overloaded and it's not good for football. It's very good commercially but there is a limit. It's almost unaffordable [for players to get injured] because of the overload of so many games."

• Ten Hag dismissed suggestions his side's attack was toothless and likely to fail this season: "We have creatde a lot of chances in the first games of the season. Last week we scored seven against Barnsley - we are capable of scoring many goals. It's part of the game. We have to be better and improve. We have to kill more in the box."

• On Marcus Rashford who was a substitute against Crystal Palace on Saturday: "I didn't understand the criticism - people are entitled if they want to be. But they are not entitled to bring speculation - if I give an explanation then they have to trust my words."

• He praised his boyhood club Twente, where he made more than 250 appearances: "Twente's brought me a lot. I was put through their academy and I was part of the generation of the first youth team when the youth competition was started up again after many years. For me there's a great deal of history there."

• He added: "Of all the teams, Twente is the team I follow the most. I watch them as a fan, not an analyst. It's a different way of watching their games. I would have preferred to play against someone else. It is not nice to hurt something you love."

Alex Turk
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

On Saturday, Manchester United failed to beat a team yet to taste victory in the Premier League this season despite enjoying one of their best opening hours under Erik ten Hag at Crystal Palace.

The result at Selhurst Park, which left United in the bottom half of the table after five matches, unsurprisingly reignited sour sparks after a positive week featuring 3-0 and 7-0 wins.

But the negative headline machine was churning out its latest batch of Ten Hag questioning before kick-off when he named Marcus Rashford among his substitutes.

The decision raised eyebrows, given Rashford had provided three goals and an assist in United's last two outings.

One pundit went as far as to wildly speculate on live television that he felt "something had happened" between the 26-year-old and his manager.

The thing is... those slamming Ten Hag's decision to switch Rashford out for Alejandro Garnacho are very likely the same who have been calling for United to improve their mediocre squad depth in recent years.

The Red Devils ended last season with only two natural forwards starting matches in an injury-stricken campaign. It was no surprise they finished a record-low eighth.

Now, through developments including Amad Diallo's rise and Joshua Zirkzee's arrival, Ten Hag will believe he has two high-quality options in all three of his attacking positions.

Rashford was simply rested for Garnacho - who has notched four goals and three assists in three appearances this term. And, if anything, United's performance levels improved.

While the results are not necessarily good enough, Ten Hag's newfound ability to swap big names to positive effect is among the reasons to be optimistic in the early stages of 2024/25.

The masses clamoured for improved squad depth.

This is what it looks like.

Find more from Alex Turk at Stretford Paddock, external

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Erik ten Hag was a boyhood FC Twente fan.

He was born in the area and fulfilled a childhood dream when he played for the club, making over 200 appearances in three separate spells.

His proudest moment as a player was winning the Dutch Cup with FC Twente in 2001.

He has managed teams against them plenty of times before but on Wednesday he will do so for Manchester United when they open their Europa League campaign against the Eredivisie side at Old Trafford.

After last season's disastrous Champions League campaign, when United won one of their six group games, finished bottom and were eliminated, Ten Hag will expect an improvement this time around.

Newcastle, Manchester United and Tottenham are among the clubs interested in Lille and England midfielder Angel Gomes, 24. (GiveMeSport), external

Southampton are hoping to convince English midfielder Tyler Dibling, 18, to sign a new contract amid interest from Manchester United. (GiveMeSport), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

The latest episode of BBC Radio Manchester's The Devils' Advocate podcast has landed on BBC Sounds.

Gaz Drinkwater and Joe McGrath look back at the goalless draw with Crystal Palace and discuss why they are still confident Erik ten Hag's side will make the Premier League's top four.

Plus, they look ahead to United opening their Europa League campaign against FC Twente and a home match against Tottenham at the weekend.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Crystal Palace and Manchester United.

Here are some of your comments:

Crystal Palace fans

Len: We were lucky to get a point out of this one; however, Eze had two golden opportunities that he would normally have slotted home. Our injury list continues to present problems in selecting our best XI…but, we are not the side who finished last season so well.

Keith: Out-thought tactically in the first half and out-fouled too, with United scything down Eze repeatedly. Much better in second half, which was very even. Good performance from Henderson and the defence, but Eze continues to utterly waste golden opportunities.

Glen: Today I saw a better performance. They definitely looked fitter however the formation was not working which was very obvious from the stands. Unfortunately it took until the 70th minute to change things up. Overall we had the best of the second half and should have scored. Please start Sarr and loaning out Rak-Sakyi looks a bad idea now.

Steve: What has happened to Palace? The first half was a throwback to the Hodgson days. Passive. Negative. Unable to put two passes together. Glasner’s half-time talk brought some improvement, but Palace looked like a team already battling against relegation. I hope I’m wrong, but Glasner needs to turn it around before the rot sets in.

Man Utd fans

Tim: Some really good stuff from United in the first half, with Eriksen the pick of the players. I don't think anything was gained from bringing on Rashford when Eriksen and Zirkzee were causing Palace so may problems. Fernandes, who was average by his standards, could have come off for Rashford with Zirkzee sitting deeper.

Nigel: It concerns me that United can be so dominant but yet not deliver. For me the build up is still too slow and not positive enough. Not taking their chances that were created must be a concern for Ten Hag. The team is crying out for a regular goal scorer and Zirkzee is not that player for me. Work still to do on ‘the project'.

Jason: Another big disappointment and it could have been worse had Palace took their better chances. It was the same old lack of cutting edge, it's hard to see this team putting a run of wins together and really making a statement. The lack of urgency to go get a winning goal in the latter stages of games like this is frustrating.

Chris: Should have been home and dry after 45 minutes. In football, especially at this level, you have to take advantage when on top. United lacked a ruthlessness in front of goal and inevitably Palace then had their moments. There is much promise from Manchester United with a much improved back four and Onana has now hit top form. Two points lost.

Scouts from Manchester United, Newcastle and Tottenham watched English midfielder Tyler Dibling, 18, as he scored for Southampton on Saturday. (HITC)

Want more transfer stories? Read Mondays's full gossip column

Gary Lineker presents highlights and analysis from Saturday's eight Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth

• Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester United

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Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has been speaking to Sky Sports following their draw with Crystal Palace: "When we don’t win, I’m not content. We should have won. I think first half, we ate them alive. Then in the second half, it was more in the balance but first half, we should have scored one or two goals."

Did your finishing let you down?: "I don’t think [so], we played very good. Total control of the game. In and out of possession, I think we played very good. The only thing was in the box, that is where the game is always decided. We should be more clinical there."

On dropping points: "In Brighton, we should have drawn or even win the game there, so we lost three points. Today, we also probably lose two points because of the first half, but the thing is that we don’t lose this game in the end.

On keeping a clean sheet: "We have worked very hard as a team to be defensive, compact. We’ve worked on pressing and you see the benefits from it but also, on the ball, we are very constructive and we have control and that also, we take the breath of the opponent away.

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana talking to Sky Sports about his double save from Nketiah and Sarr: "I don’t think it is so important because we didn’t win. We are such a big club. When we move somewhere, we have the ambition to try to win. We didn’t win but I’m happy for the work, the sacrifice of my team-mates because I think we were better than them. We had so many chances but unfortunately, we didn’t score. It’s difficult to come back with one point when we deserved to win."

On thinking United would score: "To be honest, yes. I thought so. Football sometimes, you can’t control everything. We were coming in, we had more chances and I had faith always in my guys. Today, we hit the crossbar twice and hopefully in the coming games, we will score a lot."

On Crystal Palace's chances: "I think we were better than them, I think we were way better than them. We had more chances than them. We had the best chances during the game. Of course, they are a very good team, but we were way better than them."

Callum Matthews
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

This felt like a very similar story for Manchester United.

They were dominant in the opening half an hour but lacked a real cutting edge in front of goal.

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.

Lisandro Martinez will feel he should have scored after a corner fell to him in the box, while Alejandro Garnacho and particularly Bruno Fernandes will rue hitting the bar.

Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund made his first appearance of the season off the bench and his availability will be a boost to Erik ten Hag, with summer signing Joshua Zirkzee well-marshalled by the Palace defence throughout.

Image source, Getty Images

Of teams they’ve faced more than ten times in the Premier League, Manchester United have drawn 0-0 in a higher percentage of their games versus Crystal Palace than against any other opponent in the competition (16% - 5/31).

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Palace’s performance, external

What did you make of United's display?, external

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Follow reaction and read the match report

Eight matches make up Saturday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

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BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries:

• Liverpool v Bournemouth

• Crystal Palace v Manchester United

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week five, he takes on singer-songwriter and West Ham fan James Smith whose debut album, Common People, is out now.

Crystal Palace host Manchester United on Saturday at 17:30 BST.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Crystal Palace pumped Manchester United 4-0 in May, but since then they have sold Michael Olise, who scored twice in that game and makes goals as well as scores them.

Eagles boss Oliver Glasner made a huge impact when he came in last season but, so far, this campaign has not been plain sailing for him.

Glasner wants to play an attacking brand of football but I feel like that will suit Manchester United, and that Erik ten Hag's side can hurt Palace the same way they hurt Southampton last week.

It was a big moment in the game when Andre Onana saved Cameron Archer's penalty but, after that, United were pretty good, with Marcus Rashford looking lively.

My first instinct was that this would end in a draw but I am actually going to go with United to win it. I am still not sure about Ten Hag but I just have a sense they might be heading in the right direction, and Palace have not got going yet.

James's prediction: 0-1

I can see this being quite a boring game and Manchester United will win, even though they haven’t been playing very well. 0-1

Read their full predictions and have your own say here

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United defender Tyrell Malacia was picture on the training pitch on Friday, as the left-back nears a return from an injury which has ruled him out since May 2023.

United say the Dutch defender took part in the warm-ups on Friday and will continue to "tread lightly" as he looks to return to Erik ten Hag's first-team squad for matches.

The 25-year-old was named in the Reds' 25-man Europa League squad for the league phase.

Fellow defender Victor Lindelof took part in full training and therefore could be available for the Reds at Crystal Palace on Saturday (kick-off 17:30 BST).

Lindelof has not played for United since pre-season.

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United confirmed earlier this week they will be launching a fans' survey to get feedback from what they want around a stadium.

This is part of the huge information-gathering exercise taking place, looking at the regeneration of the Wharfside area around Old Trafford that could involve a new stadium.

No recommendation will be put forward until the end of the year. However, it is looking increasingly unlikely a 'mini OT' will be part of the plans.

There had been an idea that if a new stadium was built, the current one could be scaled down and used by the women's and main youth teams, similar to how Manchester City are set up.

But sources close to the situation say this is impractical. City were able to build their smaller stadium from scratch but reducing the size of an existing one would run into hundreds of millions of pounds. This, it is felt, would make the cost prohibitive.

As it stands, the women's team play their home games in Leigh.