Manchester United operate only on extremes so regardless of the performance, which was actually good, the vultures were always going to circle after the draw vs Crystal Palace.
United did enough to be out of sight in the first half itself as they created five big chances but took none of them.
The trend of the game was more balanced in the second half but over the full 90, Palace could count themselves extremely lucky to have gained a point.
United dropped two, however, which means it’s time for introspection and see what’s wrong.
The answer is clear so far, with United missing the most big chances in the league this season. BBC pundits Gary Lineker, Danny Murphy, and Ashley Williams think Ineos have something to do with it.
Ineos’ summer mistake called out
Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s new-look executive team have been widely praised for the work done with the squad in the summer transfer window.
Five players came in to address various gaping holes in the squad, while many departed to boost United’s coffers in a departure from Glazer years.
- READ MORE: Manchester United confirmed signings, transfers in, out, loan exits, releases for 2024/25
Of the five signings, four were defensive-minded, with Joshua Zirkzee the sole attacker to come through the door at Old Trafford.
For a team that has struggled to score consistently since Ten Hag’s arrival, the only attacking signing being Zirkzee, who’s not a score-first striker, is a curious move, as per BBC pundits.
Talking on Match of the Day after the game to analyse United’s biggest shortcoming vs Palace, they honed in on this particular gap in the team.
Danny Murphy said: “I think they made some decent signings defence but they didn’t address the shortage of goals.
“They scored joint lowest amount of goals in the top half last season and they bought in Zirkzee, the only attacking player who is a young lad and not a goalscorer.”
Ashley Williams agreed: “Is Zirkzee going to get you 20 goals a season? He’s the only attacking addition. That’s what they were lacking last season. Palace were there for the taking. United actually played really well.
“They ended up nearly losing the game! It’s going to be the same thing as last season. Who’s going to score goals for them?”
Unpacking the comments
While the criticism of United signing only one attacking player is fairly understandable, the reality is that United had far more urgent needs in the squad.
The defence was an absolute mess last season and the improvement is already marked in the first five league games.
That has directly led to the attack creating more chances and for all of Zirkzee’s faults of not being a natural goalscorer, the team looks so much more threatening with him in it.
The reality is that Hojlund’s injury within the first 15 minutes of his pre-season was an unexpected blow and the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford need to get to their 2022/23 levels.
Alejandro Garnacho is already taking a superstar leap but lacks that killer finishing instinct, while Amad is a breakout star this season.
It is the same team that scored seven times in the midweek against Barnsley which, even accounting for the strength of opposition, is no easy feat.
Ultimately, it was just one of those days where the opposition goalkeeper was in inspired form combined with United forwards missing their shooting boots.
That’s still a much better situation to be in than not creating chances at all and living off individual moments of brilliance.
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