As the Red Devils drew blank again last night away to Crystal Palace, fans and pundits alike questioned Louis van Gaal’s “philosophy” and “process” and asked whether or not he was actually heading on the correct path. Here, we take a look at the 3 things we learnt from the game at Selhurst Park last night:

1. Rooney is presenting more questions than answers

When on full song, the Manchester United captain is easily one of he finest players in the world. However, currently, he looks a shadow of that player and has been missing sitters, mis-passing, making very poor first touches and overall, bogging down the pace of United’s final third. The lone striker role up front doesn’t suit him at all at the moment, and van Gaal needs to take a harsh decision regarding his captain. At the moment, United look in a serious lack of options upfront, because with Chicharito and Van Persie both sold, they do not have anyone experienced enough to lead the team as a no. 9, except Wayne Rooney. If United seriously want to go in for the title challenge, they need to fix this situation as soon as possible.

2. Darmain needs to get his mojo back

Matteo Darmian had been sensational since he made his bow in the Premier League in August, with his positional sense and energy, but of late he has been off his game for some reason. Last night, Wilfried Zaha gave him a torrid time at right back, and again and again he was drawn out of position by the tricky wide forward. Something seems to be amiss with the former Torino man, and one only hopes that he gets over it sooner rather than later.

3. Van Gaal needs to change his tactics

At the moment, van Gaal’s tactics are keeping it tight in the back, but United are failing to make it count upfront. I personally think that he would be better off playing a 4-3-3 rather than a 4-2-3-1, since in this system it is very hard for a lone striker to succeed consistently. Rather, it would make much more sense to play with a forward line of 3, preferably Martial, Herrera and Mata, and let the midfield sit back and work hard to recycle all loose balls and block attacks. However, if the Dutchman still persists with his 4-2-3-1 formation, the best idea would probably be to bring Ashley Young on the left, drop Rooney and play Anthony Martial upfront, since the Frenchman has pace and a tremendous goalscoring instinct, both of which is being underutilized in his current wide position.