Erik ten Hag says Manchester United ate Crystal Palace alive in the first half of their 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park as Andre Onana displayed his âbrilliantâ goalkeeping.
Man Utd and Crystal Palace played out a goalless draw on Saturday evening, with former Red Devils goalkeeper Dean Henderson on fine form, making seven saves.
Ten Hagâs side probably did enough to earn the three points but were thwarted by the man the Dutchman sold.
Man Utd goalkeeper Andre Onana played his part as well, producing an incredible double save in the second half to deny Eddie Nketiah and Ismaila Sarr.
Speaking after the game, Onana insisted that his side were âbetterâ than Palace.
âI donât think it [his best save] is so important because we didnât win,â he said. âWe are such a big club.
âWhen we move somewhere, we have the ambition to try to win. We didnât win but Iâm happy for the work, the sacrifice of my team-mates because I think we were better than them.
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âWe had so many chances but unfortunately, we didnât score. Itâs difficult to come back with one point when we deserved to win.
âI think we were better than them, I think we were way better than them. We had more chances than them. We had the best chances during the game. Of course, they are a very good team, but we were way better than them.
âItâs always nice to keep a clean sheet but the most important thing, especially playing for Manchester United, you have to win.
âWe didnât win today, but we came here with the mentality [to win]. We will go back home disappointed.â
Asked if he thought Man Utd would score, Onana replied: âTo be honest, yes. I thought so.
âFootball sometimes, you canât control everything. We were coming in, we had more chances and I had faith always in my guys.
âToday, we hit the crossbar twice and hopefully in the coming games, we will score a lot.â
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Man Utd manager Ten Hag said his players âate them aliveâ in the first half and has urged them to be âmore clinicalâ in front of goal.
âWhen we donât win, Iâm not content,â he said. âWe should have won. I think first half, we ate them alive.
âThen in the second half, it was more in the balance but first half, we should have scored one or two goals.
âItâs always one chance and they got the chance at the 44th minute, it was a big chance [that] they got. By that time, we should have been 2-0, 3-0 up.
âThey closed the midfield more (in the second half) and they had some good counter attacks, so it was more difficult.
âThe first place for us to get through and the flip side is then they got more space and they had some good counters.
âI think it was a brilliant save from Andre Onana twice in one action, it was really brilliant.
âThat is very difficult for a goalie to be there in the moment you needed, Dean Henderson also played a very good game, how many balls he stopped.
âHe was in a rhythm, but Andre has to wait and keep the focus and in the right moment, you have to be spot on and did brilliant.
âWe have worked very hard as a team to be defensive, compact.
âWeâve worked on pressing and you see the benefits from it but also, on the ball, we are very constructive and we have control and that also, we take the breath of the opponent away.
âIn Brighton, we should have drawn or even win the game there, so we lost three points. Today, we also probably lose two points because of the first half, but the thing is that we donât lose this game in the end.
Asked if their finishing let him down, he said: âI donât think [so], we played very good. Total control of the game. In and out of possession, I think we played very good.
âThe only thing was in the box, that is where the game is always decided. We should be more clinical there.â
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