Pranav Nair
The reason why Manchester United duo Anthony Martial and David de Gea were absent vs Crystal Palace
Manchester United duo Anthony Martial and David de Gea were both absent as the Red Devils stumbled their way to a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Both players featured in the club’s last match against Chelsea last Sunday. De Gea played the whole ninety minutes while Martial came on as a second-half substitute.
According to the Mirror, speaking ahead of the match yesterday, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed that De Gea’s absence was down to ‘personal reasons’.
The United boss refused to give away much and only revealed that the issue is bound to take its time. Dean Henderson started instead of the Spaniard and was probably United’s best player of the night.
“That’s a private matter. It’ll take the time it takes.”
Martial, however, injured his knee in training on Monday. Solskjaer hopes the Frenchman will be fit for the Manchester Derby on the weekend but is far from certain if that will be the case.
“Anthony [Martial] got a knock in training on Monday, on his knee, so not ready for this.”
“Hopefully ready for the weekend but we’re not sure yet.”
Of the two, United could have done with Martial on the night. The Red Devils dominated possession but could manage just a solitary shot on goal all night.
It was from the performance expected from a side challenging for the title. If this keeps up, we might struggle to even hold onto a top-four slot.
United have now gone three matches without scoring and the attack appears to have lost its mojo. The likes of Bruno Fernandes looked fatigued and lost, and were unable to impact the result.
More Manchester United News
- Ed Woodward holds informal talks with Perez regarding Manchester United target Raphael Varane
- Facundo Pellistri regrets not spending more time at Manchester United
- Lazio unlikely to meet Manchester United valuation of €25m for Andreas Pereira
With City up next, Solskjaer will have his hands full in getting his underperforming side to step up. There is still much to be played for and United will have to do much better if they are serious about ending the season on a high.
