Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening in the Premier League thanks to a stunning free-kick from Michael Olise to cancel out Bruno Fernandes' first-half strike.
The Red Devils had the chance to move above their rivals Manchester City and close the gap on leaders Arsenal to six, as they next head to face the Gunners on Sunday. The draw saw United's winning run of nine consecutive matches come to an end but they are still unbeaten since the restart after the World Cup.
United were largely the better side in the match but Palace didn't give up and in the end got their reward thanks to a sublime piece of skill from Olise. This is a minor setback for the Red Devils but this is a different team to last year and they are made of sterner stuff, and it's all thanks to their coach.
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United have been an improving threat week on week since Erik ten Hag’s arrival in the summer. Their transfer business has been applauded, while the Dutchman has helped take the players who were already at the club, to another level. The standout right now is Marcus Rashford. Ten Hag has restored the forward’s confidence and now he is one of the best-performing players in the world right now having scored eight goals in seven appearances since the World Cup.
And while it’s been great to see Rashford finding his form again, arguably the biggest transformation we are seeing before our eyes is that of right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The energetic full-back saw his form fall off a cliff after his first season at Old Trafford having joined from the Eagles for £50 million in 2019.
It would be hard for a lot of players weighed down by such a hefty price tag and that, coupled with other variables, made it difficult for Wan-Bissaka to make the impact that he and the fans were hoping for.
Over the past two years we have seen him linked with both permanent and loan moves away from the Red Devils and his former employers Palace are reportedly still interested in a potential homecoming. Six months ago you’d have thought that there might have been a real possibility. He was a player out of favour, largely due to his limitations going forward which is a fundamental part of being a full-back in this day and age. But you cannot see him moving anytime soon, unless a huge offer comes United’s way.
The one thing no one could ever argue against from Wan-Bissaka’s game was his defensive capabilities. He is such an intelligent defender. He knows when to get stuck in and when not to, and when it comes to one-on-one battles he frequently triumphs. There was a good tussle with his former teammate Wilfried Zaha on Wednesday evening and in the few occasions where the two went head-to-head, Wan-Bissaka had the beating of the Palace star. Wan-Bissaka then stepped up when his team needed him most when Zaha was through on goal with the score at 1-1 late on. He delivered another one of his classic perfectly-timed tackles to pinch the ball from the attacker who was in a great position to snatch the three points for Patrick Vieira's side. Wan-Bissaka is invaluable for scenarios like that.
Since the Premier League’s restart last month, Wan-Bissaka has come in for the injured Diogo Dalot and it has given him a second chance with the Red Devils. For a player who had rarely kicked a ball this season he has been excelling on the right side of a much better organised defence. You can see that Ten Hag has been working with him because he is starting to offer a growing threat in the opposition half, whether that be driving the ball forward or finding his teammates with intelligent passes.
He played excellently against Manchester City in the derby at the weekend and his fine form continued against his old side, and he is starting to look like the talent United invested in back in 2019. One person who will be slightly concerned about his recent performances is Dalot. The Portuguese right-back has been a consistent performer this term for Ten Hag this year, but he certainly has a battle for a starting spot now which a few months ago didn’t exist. This will only add to United’s strength in depth as they look to be making their own title charge.
