Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace: Kouyate and Fellaini both have goals ruled out for offside

Crystal Palace held Manchester United at Old Trafford to a goalless draw, their first ever point there in the premier League, while the Red Devils’ woes continued.

Jose Mourinho made four changes from the derby defeat to City with Paul Pogba returning from injury and Romelu Lukaku, Juan Mata and Matteo Darmian all being recalled in the place of Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw losing out.

Palace made just the one change, with Wilf Zaha returning from injury to replace Jordan Ayew. The Eagles went into the game having lost all 11 Premier League games at Old Trafford ever and not scoring there since 2004. Their most recent win there being May 1991, 18 months before Zaha was born.

READ MORE: Mourinho: De Gea singled out by ‘very powerful’ Spanish media

READ MORE: Pogba and Martial fit for United’s Premier League clash with Palace

Unsurprisingly, it was the home side who started brightest with Anthony Martial, searching for his seventh goal in eight games, nearly getting in round the back post before being snuffed out by Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Luke Milivojevic picked up a yellow card for scything down Jesse Lingard and it looked like he Eagles would be in for a long afternoon as Paul Pogba fired just wide from inside the box.

But Palace grew into the game. Zaha curled an effort from distance just over 15 minutes in before drilling another attempt inches wide.

They had a golden chance to open the scoring a few minutes later as they broke on the counter and Zaha fed Patrick van Aanholt only for the left-back to scuff a shot on his weaker foot horribly and see it dribble wide.

United then tried their best to miss an even easier chance as Chris Smalling rose at the back-post to nod Mata’s free-kick seemingly in only for it to go into the side netting.

It definitely should have been 1-0 to the home side on the half hour mark by Lingard could only prod Ashley Young’s centre right at Wayne Hennessey before Martial headed the rebound into the Welsh keeper’s hands. The game had well and truly opened up at this point.

Lingard escaped a yellow card for a blatant trip on Cheikhou Kouyate as Palace broke with referee Lee Mason then refusing to book the United midfielder after the move had broken down.

And the Senegalese midfielder thought he had put the Eagles in front right on half-time but had his header ruled out for offside, but not until the linesman had waiting a while to raise his flag. Replays showed he was just off as the ball was swung in but it did hit Victor Lindelof before cannoning in off Kouyate.

At the start of the second half Lukaku was inches away from converting a Young cross before it was United’s turn to have a goal ruled out for offside. Lukaku pouncing on Hennesey’s spill of Young’s shot but he too had just strayed beyond the last man.

Mourinho responded to that by bringing on Rashford and Fellaini for Mata and Matic and almost on cue his team started going more direct. But it was Palace who then came closest to scoring.

David de Gea got down well to his right to keep out a Kouyate piledriver and the got up well to deny Van Aanholt from the rebound. It was enough to force Mourinho’s hand again as he rolled the dice for the final time, bringing on Sanchez for Pogba with 20 minutes left.

But it was Palace who had the best chance to win it 15 minutes from time as Townsend burst into the box but shanked it wide from five yards out, for some reason choosing his weaker right foot when rolling it into the bottom corner with his left would surely have been the preferred option.

Martial rolled a shot the wrong side of the side-netting as United looked to make Townsend pay for that miss and Hennessey was forced to tip a Lukaku header round the pst wit five minutes left but Palace held on for a rare and precious point in their fight against relegation.

The result leaves United seventh, six points off the top four and Palace 15th, celebrating their first point at Old Trafford in nearly 28 years.