Erik ten Hag faces renewed scrutiny after Manchester United extended their woeful record against teams in the lower half of the Premier League table.

Ten Hag's side squandered numerous opportunities in a frustrating 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace and relied on goalkeeper Andre Onana to make a remarkable double save to avoid defeat. This result marked a significant downturn from their previous league match, where they secured a comfortable 3-0 victory away at Southampton.

Marcus Rashford scored in that victory and netted two more goals as United thrashed League One side Barnsley 7-0 in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday. The 26-year-old was hoping to continue his goalscoring form against Palace but found himself on the bench at Ten Hag's discretion.

The Dutchman opted for Joshua Zirkzee in the striker position, deploying Alejandro Garnacho and Amad on the flanks. His decision seemed straightforward, as Ten Hag acknowledged on Sky Sports: "It was not difficult because we need to rotate.

"We have many matches to manage, and we must give Alejandro opportunities – and as we have all seen, he has considerable end product, scoring many goals and providing numerous assists, but often as a substitute. He also needs starts – he has had just one start this season."

Rashford eventually entered the fray in the second half but was unable to ignite a spark for Ten Hag's side. With Palace denying United a chance for back-to-back top-flight victories, the Red Devils have now managed to win only two of their last eight league matches against teams starting the day in the bottom half.

United have drawn four of those matches and lost two, with both victories coming against newly promoted teams: a 4-2 win over relegation-bound Sheffield United in April and the earlier match against Southampton.

Post-match, Ten Hag expressed disappointment at United's lack of clinical finishing. "The performance was good, but you don’t earn points for performance alone," he told Match of the Day.

"You have to score a goal. Naturally, I am quite disappointed when you dominate a game. We played some excellent football and executed good pressing. You can control the game but fail to convert that into goals."

Ten Hag added: "We are in a process. In Brighton [a 2-1 loss], we were level. In the last 30 minutes, we lost a bit of control after what we thought was the winning goal, but then we ended up losing the match. Now, we need to take a step forward."