Player ratings of everything that was.
Dean Henderson: 8/10
A great defense over Van Aanholt at the end of the exact situation that David De Gea was guilty of recently gives credit to the idea that United would have lost to the Spaniard there.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka: 5/10
I’m not sure how he let Van Aanholt through in the end. He made good progress, but just hitting the crosses will never be very effective.
Eric Bailly: 4/10
Reckless challenge led Fred to score a free kick. On the ball … woof. Someone needs to warn him that he can pass it on to players without Maguire’s name.
Harry Maguire: 5/10
The haters will remember Bruno’s terrible pass at the start of the first half. They will forget about the other good things he did in the first half, when Crystal Palace was playing well. Completely silent in the second half.
Luke Shaw: 6/10
Manchester United’s only bright spot. You can’t count on him to take the team.
Fred: 4/10
He tried some ambitious forward passes and I don’t remember any that were actually completed.
Nemanja Matić: 5/10
He covered the defense well and was the only midfielder who really tried to advance the ball. Obviously it didn’t work because he is not good at it, but he was the only one with the right mindset.
Bruno Fernandes: 3/10
Oh, did he play this game?
Mason Greenwood: 4/10
Failed to actually make an impact. I don’t know why he never really traded with Rashford.
Marcus Rashford: 3/10
If he saw two defenders in front of him, there was a 100 percent chance of trying to circumvent them. It was never successful. The fans proclaim his record of goals, but seem to forget the frequency with which he disappears in these types of games.
Edinson Cavani: 2/10
Big movement in the box, but what does it matter if you can’t get the ball close to the box? “Well, at least the other attackers will learn to move like him,” we keep saying as we watch Rashford and Greenwood remain stagnant. Cavani continues to offer nothing in the construction game and against a deep block, you need all 10 field players to contribute. I had a chance at poachers early and missed it, of course. At least Dan James is learning to move in the box.
Scott McTominay: N / A
I still can’t understand how he didn’t throw the ball right after entering.
Dan James: N / A
It went well and was somehow the only player to open up in the area at a cross. It is not what you want.
Manager
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: 2/10
It is difficult to attribute everything to him. Injuries meant he really didn’t have much of a choice with the starting eleven and suddenly you are looking at a team completely devoid of creativity. It looked a lot like last season, when Paul Pogba got hurt. Two risk-averse midfielders, no creativity on the wings and no option to leave the bench. United have good players, but each has very obvious limitations and they will be exposed when players who help to cover those limitations are eliminated.