It was a gripping match – not full of exciting moves or a great number of chances, but full of tension lest Palace could grab three points or robbed of the one they more than deserved. It also featured one of the most negative Manchester United performances I’ve seen in 30 years; no wonder their glory-hunting fans were chanting for the attack even as Rooney & co. exited via the tunnel. However we should keep a sense of perspective – while there was barely an average performance from any Palace player, and mostly below-average from our visitors, we still just lacked that cutting edge to ram home our slender superiority and gain the win our efforts deserved.

Palace made four changes to the starting XI from Leicester: Ward made a welcome return at full back, but on the left side, allowing Kelly to switch to the right; Delaney replaced Hangeland in central defence; Zaha replaced Sako on the right wing; and Gayle returned for Campbell up front. When the match started it was noticeable that Cabaye was playing in the more advanced midfield role with Puncheon deeper, a risky move. United, lacking defenders, had Blind in central defence and Rojo & Darmian as full back, surely an invitation to attack the flanks. And, for the first 15 minutes or so Palace did little but attack in a sustained assault that had United wobbling – the first 60 seconds saw Bolasie just fail to get a shot off, but the ball rebounded to Gayle whose shot lacked real venom and was straight at De Gea. The real fun came when Bolasie found himself in space at a tight angle on the right. His shot smacked the face of the bar and stayed out and a follow-up effort brought a couple of corners, one of which saw Dann’s header tipped over then an almighty scramble at the loose ball. Would we regret not taking advantage of this spell?

The tenor of the match changed with a bad foul from Cabaye that brought a yellow card; deserved though it was the referee didn’t use it as a marker and although ready to book Kelly for a second foul was far more restrained when dealing with white-shirted offenders, who seemed to make it their task to rile Yohan into a second (red card) transgression. United then proceeded to keep possession for an awfully long time, with Palace barely getting a touch. Yet chances for United remained thin on the ground – there was a free kick from Rooney that brought a routine save from Hennessey, who then excelled himself by winning a one-on-one against Rooney when the latter was clear – given he’d conceded goals in the last two League games from similar situations this was important for our Wayne, while the United version seemed to hesitate at Hennessey’s advance, which summed up his disappointing display. Rooney wasn’t alone, most of United’s big players either failing to turn up or restricted by their manager’s instructions. Palace’s organisation in this period was crucial, and everyone worked hard at closing down United. Palace did claw their way back in before half-time, a bit of brilliance from Cabaye’s chest giving Gayle a half-chance that was saved by De Gea. Zaha in particular was fired up against his former employers.

There was one positional switch at half time, with Ward and Kelly switching flanks; Kelly had struggled a little against the talented Martial but hung on at the cost of a yellow card, so Pardew was looking to protect his right back. Zaha and Bolasie also switched more permanently. To our surprise it was Palace who embarked upon a period of possession and territorial advantage in the second half that lasted around half-an-hour. We pinned United back and our midfield & defence snuffed out most attempted attacks before they began. Rooney was frustrated, Martial policed by Ward, while Schneiderlin was unimpressive and World-Cup winner (they don’t count in South London, Pig Farmer!) Schweinsteiger only noticeable by the extra weight he was carrying. They were outclassed by Cabaye, McArthur & Puncheon, and the useful tactic of putting the ball behind their full backs. Ironically it was Cabaye, the best midfielder on the pitch, who missed the best chance of the match from a right-wing cross. Bolasie was more involved on the right this half, although Zaha forced the replacement of his full back, although Young had the pace to keep Wilf quieter. Another spell of pressure saw Dann head a corner just wide, the Bolasie looked to have broken clear to be denied by an excellent tackle, the ball rolling to Gayle whose shot was saved, and Puncheon’s follow-up found the side-netting.

Cabaye, living dangerously on a yellow card, was withdrawn by Pardew after his kicked the ball away – probably the fact it was for a Palace free kick saved him a dismissal – and was replaced by Jedinak; it may also have been a defensive measure to mark sub Fellaini. With less than 15 minutes remaining Rooney had United’s first effort on goal of the second half, putting a shot over. There was another header from Dann that looped over before United at least tried to appease their supporters, a block by Delaney & Ward preventing Hennessey actually having to make a save. Palace, working as hard at the end as they had all match, couldn’t summon up a winning attack and preserved the point they deserved.

Ratings:

Hennessey – 7 – Although Wayne was ludicrously underemployed for a United match, he did make a crucial save when Rooney was bearing down on goal, perhaps showing his studs put his namesake off. His kicking was decent and there was a sense of command & communication with his defence.

Kelly – 7 – Had a struggle against Martial but held on gamely despite a yellow card, had an easier ride when switched to left back. Made important interceptions and always tried to support his winger.

Ward – 8 – Decent spell at left back, looking to overlap, and then kept Martial quiet when switched to the right side. Important part of the defence.

Delaney – 8 – Had one of his easier games with little threat coming down the middle until late on. Was involved in a crucial late block and in the first half his no-nonsense defending saw the ball out. The Delaney diagonal was a useful weapon too.

Dann – 8 – Led the defence well, some outstanding interceptions late on.

McArthur – 7 – Strong showing in midfield that put United’s multi-million dollar assembly in the shade. Did a lot of the deep defensive work in the first half in particular, allowing Cabaye space to play.

Cabaye – 8 – The best midfielder on the pitch, which considering we had World Cup, European Championship, Champions’ League and Premier League winners on display was quite an achievement. The first 15 minutes he was simply everywhere until his edge was slightly blunted by a deserved yellow card. His spikiness perhaps contributed to his substitution but he stayed on despite attempts to kick & rile him into retaliation, an obscene side of the professional game. If only he had finished that great chance in the second half... (good for me as my keyboard notoriously has no “9” key!).

Puncheon – 6 – Only average in comparison to most of his colleagues, in part because his normal creative game was stifled by his early deeper positioning, but he stuck to an unfamiliar role well. Was slightly more advanced in the second half and did help Bolasie a lot on that flank.

Zaha – 7 – Started well on the right and looked fired up for the obvious reason, his play created chances & half-chances. Slightly less effective in the second half when he was mostly on the left, and Young had the pace to keep with him defensively. Won plenty of free kicks and worked hard tracking back.

Bolasie – 7 – Early effort from ridiculous angle which if it had been an inch lower would have been a goal of the season contender (a foot lower and De Gea would have been beheaded) but had a quieter first half than Wilf. Far more effective in the second half on the right when he opened up United’s defence on more than one occasion.

Gayle – 7 – Worked damned hard and won a surprising number of headers, but not just against Blind & also Smalling, which was more surprising. Had a couple of efforts on goal saved.

Jedinak – 6 – Late sub for Cabaye who helped close the game out.

As I sit in the Eagles’ Lair on the 13th floor of one of Manchester’s top / cheapest hotels, with panoramic views of Piccadilly Station, I think back to the last time I stayed in the area at the old Thistle Hotel. Then the block opposite had been rubble with one pub still standing, which happened to be the main business centre of the local drug dealers, while the young ladies on the streets apparently wanted to have sex but only as a commercial transaction. How times have changed. You saw that at the Etihad where the half-time adverts included one for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. What would Palace’s equivalent be – ram raiding in New Addington? I reckon the lads in Fort Neef could remove Hamilton’s tyres quicker than Mercedes but he’d have trouble catching Rosberg with his suspension compiled of bricks.

Sadly this progression also applied to the pitch. Last two visits under Pulis & Warnock, Palace had looked to frustrate City and hit them on the break, and it had so nearly worked in both cases. Pardew chose a different stance: we would go toe-to-toe with one of the richest clubs in Europe. Sadly the heavyweight liked us coming onto him and if City didn’t knock us out they at least left us with a bloodied nose. Sobering thought, Palace didn’t actually play that badly, but in most areas City were better, stronger or faster, especially catching us on the break. Most of the Palace side made errors at some stage but chillingly City were just a better side. If both sides had taken their chances Palace may have scored 4 but City would probably have reached double figures.

Supa-Al’s starting XI was an interesting mixture of recalled “reserves” and first XI players in a 4-2-3-1 formation: Hennessey; Kelly, Mariappa, Dann, Delaney; Ledley, Jedinak; Zaha, Bolasie, Mutch; Bamford. Most interesting was the return of the old midfield firm of Mile & Joe and the resting of Cabaye & McArthur. It wasn’t quite as defensive as the line-up nominally was because Jedinak did push forward to make it more 4-1-4-1 but that actually allowed City space to play. The game started in a strange atmosphere, with the huge third tier on one side & half of one end closed, while the Palace numbers were severely depleted due, as is no doubt posted elsewhere, to coach issues, and City had decided to give all their family stand those damned clackers...

From the start it was obvious City’s fairly strong line-up would test us in midfield where De Bruyne played wide left, Jesus Navas on the right, with Fernando & Touré in the middle. An early error by Dann let De Bruyne clear on goal from the left & the €60m man really should have scored but pushed his shot beyond the far post. Yet Palace were at their best in the first 20 minutes, with Zaha especially down the right: a good combination with Jedi & a deep cross found Bolasie unmarked at the far post but Yala’s header was poor; then Wilf pulled back a cross for one of the midfield (Mutch?) to shoot, only for a block to leave Bolasie with what looked an easy chance – he took ages to control the ball and the chance was smothered. Yannick’s next involvement was a nasty clash of heads that left him prone on the turf for some minutes before he recovered and returned to the field.

City’s breakthrough came from a corner that was headed home by Bony; it looked like Mariappa was marking him but was beaten on the run and Hennessey had no chance. The goal seemed to affect Palace’s confidence and for quite a period we contributed little in an attacking sense, with Zaha & Bolasie looking promising but sadly delivering little. Mutch & Bamford started to drift out of the game while Jedinak’s uncertain passing did not help. Only good work by the defence kept City at bay until just before half time when the youngster Iheanacho (who scored the winner at Selhurst) was played in behind Kelly on the left and provided De Bruyne with a tap in. Palace almost snatched a goal back when Ledley got on the end of a cut-back but put the ball over the bar from about 15 yards. City’s response was just as fast & only a terrific tackle by Delaney kept the deficit at two.

Pardew decided to retain the same XI but City restarted on the front foot, only for a truly awful effort from Bony to save us. Palace did respond and there was a header from a free kick on the left that was cleared off the line – excuse the uncertainty but at the same moment stewards & police descended upon the front row for the heinous crime of placing a flag over an electronic advertising board so my view was blocked by several coppers’ helmets but my spies tell me it was Jedinak who won the ball. In the aftermath Zabaleta was carried off on a stretcher – a mis-aimed truncheon, perhaps?

City then did unto us what we have done so much to others in the last two seasons – they ripped us apart on the break. Hennessey did well to save from De Bruyne (who should have had a hat-trick), and from the ensuing corner juggled the ball off an attacker’s head, but Palace failed to clear and a long cross and return ball gave Iheanacho a simple task to make it 3-0. Palace then showed how to blow a gilt-edged chance: Bolasie’s cross found Zaha ahead of his marker on the penalty spot but Wilf seemed to lose his footing and the ball hit him in the chest; somehow he scooped that ball back to Bamford who, with the keeper and defender on the floor just had to score – he managed to hit Caballero’s foot. That sort of summed up the night.

Lee came on for Mutch but soon City had a penalty – someone went flying in the box and the referee was only too happy to award the spot kick, which Touré put right in the corner giving Hennessey no chance. Popular opinion pointed the finger at Delaney for the foul. City missed more chances while Gayle & Ward joined the fray and then Palace did put on some late pressure: Delaney blasted over after a good knockdown from Dann, then made amends with a strong header from Bolasie’s free kick. But City had the final word, again breaking from our set piece and setting sub Garcia free on goal to coolly draw Hennessey & roll the ball in. 5-1 was about right.

Ratings:

Hennessey – 6 – For a man who conceded 5 goals Wayne didn’t make a great deal of saves. The five he let in were pretty much difficult to blame him for, and City’s other chances were mostly wasted by inaccurate finishing. Did make one fine save from De Bruyne but we conceded not long after anyway.

Mariappa – 6 – Had a difficult but decent game up against De Bruyne and did offer some support to Wilf down the right. Think he lost Bony at the corner for the first goal.

Kelly – 6 – Had a slightly easier time against Jesus Navas and did make some fine interceptions; possibly caught out by Iheanacho for the second goal.

Delaney – 7 – On the debit side looked to be slightly at fault for the third goal when the striker had plenty of room, may well be the sinner in the penalty incident, and did blast over a decent chance (but at 0-4). To his credit are a number of important interceptions, one before half time stopping what looked a certain goal, and a thumping header for our consolation goal.

Dann¬¬ – 7 – Early error went unpunished and can’t say he looked at fault for any of the goals, most of City’s attacks either coming down the flanks or on the counter-attack. Like Damien made important blocks & clearances.

Ledley – 5 – Part of a midfield that was badly outclassed, looked a little off the pace, and did miss a good chance to make it 2-1.

Jedinak – 6 – Started well, linking well with Zaha and making early chances, but was overshadowed by Touré. His poor passing set up many counters (not sure if it was his clearance that led straight to the 3rd goal) and too often played a scooped effort even at short range. His heading at times was poor too.

Mutch – 4 – There was one fine pass that was inch perfect to set Wilf away, but that was on about 60 minutes. He just sort of disappeared.

Zaha – 6 – Good start, setting up two chances for Bolasie & Mutch (?) but after that there was much effort but too often ran into trouble and failed to provide decent crosses. He really should have scored off Bolasie’s cross in the second half but seemed to stumble as the ball came in (little shove from defender?).

Bolasie – 5 – Promised much but delivered little, blowing two good early chances with a poor header and lack of ball control. In the first half he too often failed to get his cross in. Starved of the ball for most of the second half but did set up both the Zaha / Bamford chance and his free kick found Delaney for our goal.

Bamford – 4 – Some good movement early on but always looked a yard behind in thought & deed. Still trying to figure out how, with the entire goal to aim at and Caballero on the floor he managed to hit the keeper’s leg.

Lee Chung-yong – 5 – Provided the worst short corner this season that led to Wilf’s yellow card stopping their counter-attack. Did improve after that but to no great effect.

Gayle – 6 – Looked bright but never quite got on the end of passes.

Ward – n/a – Late sub.

Right – as this is a German-run establishment I’m off to the bar for Schnapps & Bratwürst!

Sometimes teams that show a lack of ambition find it difficult to move through the gears when they fall behind in a match, and you wonder why they didn’t show that drive before they fell behind. Today was, for Palace, one of those days. In what had been a pretty grim and low quality Premier League encounter it was going to take a moment of quality or an almighty error to break the deadlock, and guess what option we chose? Annoyingly that was the cue for Palace to attack with more verve and intensity than they had shown in the previous hour, and as with recent games the final ball or finish was lacking. Leicester weren’t any better, scarcely making any chances after the first 15 minutes.

Off the pitch the afternoon began with the shock news that the club will have to sell one of their prime assets to keep our chairmen dry as Mr. Browett turned up at the stadium sans coat. I expect a bid from Chelsea for Yannick or Wilf in exchange for one of Jose’s old Matalan numbers, but – being Palace – we will probably end up with Sherwood’s cast-off Spurs gillets.

The team news was a little bit unexpected as well: Campbell in for the suspended Gayle was anticipated, Sako starting with Wilf dropping to the bench wasn’t surprising, but Souaré’s absence was, so Mariappa came in at right back with Kelly switching to the left. More surprising was the formation as Sako was pushed up alongside Campbell in an old-fashioned 4-4-2 with Puncheon playing wide on the right and Bolasie down the left.

The first 15 minutes saw Leicester’s only period where they could claim to be on top, with Mahrez difficult to pin down in that often mysterious area between defence & midfield, but even then there was a lack of goalmouth action. Their best chance came when Albrighton escaped Bolasie’s attentions and his run across the face of the box saw him passed on by defender to defender, none of whom sought to close him down or tackle him; even stranger was when he shot Hennessey didn’t move and was surprised to find the ball striking the inside of the post, Mahrez putting an even better chance wide from the rebound.

Palace soon found the answer to Leicester’s early success by dropping Cabaye & McArthur deeper in the middle, but were less successful in sparking any real action up front, the deeper-lying midfield now even less likely to support the attackers. There was some threat on the left where Bolasie & Kelly linked well on occasions, but often Sako found himself dragged out wide that side as well, which left us light in the middle. Campbell was having a poor game and Puncheon not much better. There was a moment when Sako was in space on the left side of the box, but when given the opportunity to shoot he elected to try to find Campbell & failed. Apart from one Cabaye effort straight down Schmeichel’s throat that was the sum of Palace attacks. Both teams looked far happier to try to strike on the counter, and in particular Palace’s moves were ponderous, slow and lacking any venom, with the ball often worked back to the central defenders & Hennessey.

The second half didn’t start much better and finally a change was made, the disappointing Campbell replaced by Bamford. It worked almost immediately... for the Foxes. Hangeland, as he has often done this season, was seeking to keep possession at the back but appeared to lose his balance as he tried a pass at the back, giving the ball to Vardy and a clear run in on goal. It looked like the striker on the hot streak couldn’t fail to score but he nearly did, the ball somehow being bundled past Hennessey and although Kelly nearly got back to clear, Vardy just beat him to knock the ball in.

Palace took a couple of minutes to hit the accelerator and it wasn’t until Zaha replaced Puncheon down the right that the character of the performance changed. Suddenly we were willing to run at pace and push men forward. Sako, another whose performance was far from stellar, did force a save from Schmeichel with a shot from the edge of the box. Jedinak then replaced Mariappa, with McArthur switching to right back, and Palace did start to gain a slight edge in midfield. Our best chance came when in a matter of a few seconds a Bamford header was clawed out by the keeper, then Dann’s goal bound header was blocked. Despite increasing pressure Leicester held on and were threatening on the break, another Hangeland error nearly sending Vardy in again. With time running out Bamford’s weak shot was saved easily, while Cabaye & McArthur sent shots well over. As time ran down Zaha tried to slip through between two defenders and went to ground in the box, only for referee Mike Dean to book Wilf for a dive. I thought there was some contact but Wilf’s eagerness to go down perhaps was more obvious to the ref; or Mike Dean is just a crap referee. City ran down the clock and were a little lucky to win a poor game thanks to a mistake.

Ratings

Hennessey – 6 – Very little to do, but I was worried by his lack of reaction to Albrighton’s effort – did he think it was going wide? Winning goal had similarities to West Ham’s third last week, not sure if he did well to nearly stop Vardy, or committed himself too early and made it easier for Vardy who nearly cocked up. His kicking was more inaccurate today than I’ve seen before.

Mariappa – 6 – Was occasionally outpaced by their left winger but wasn’t too threatened. Didn’t support Puncheon as much as Kelly did on his flank.

Kelly – 6 – Decent display, managing Albrighton reasonably well, and did try to get forward as soon as possible to support Bolasie.

Hangeland – 6 – Good showing but ruined by two poor unforced errors, the first of which broke the deadlock by unleashing Vardy (“So, apart from that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?”). The smug amongst us have been expecting disaster to befall us from that quarter, but to be honest I’d rather have a defence that seeks to keep possession than lump it forward aimlessly.

Dann – 7 – Kept Vardy on a tight leash and made some good headed clearances, also had a couple of attacking chances, with one header cleared from pretty much on the line.

Cabaye – 6 – Made more mistakes today than I’ve seen in previous matches, two of which sparked dangerous City counter-attacks, but was still the most accomplished passer of the ball on the pitch. Did a good defensive job too.

McArthur – 6 – Very quiet game, did more defensive work that anything creative. Switched to right back late on.

Puncheon – 4 – Disappointing, looked uncomfortable playing wide right and was rarely a factor in Palace attacks; sadly when he did find an excellent through ball Campbell was offside.

Bolasie – 6 – Saw a fair bit of ball down the left but very little end product until late on, when his crosses did create some headed chances as Palace threw men forward.

Sako – 5 – One decent moment in each half, but should have shot in the first half instead of crossing, and did draw a save in the second. But too often dragged wide out left, where he did help Yannick but left Campbell with no support on the middle when the cross came in. Was an underwhelming display.

Campbell – 4 – Given the chance to claim the striker’s spot in Wickham’s absence Fraizer had a poor game. Admittedly the service was risible but he failed to challenge Leicester’s central defenders and even his strong point of work-rate dropped.

Bamford – 6 – While he lacked the physicality to shrug off Huth’s attention and Murray’s canniness to win free kicks out of it, Patrick did make some good contributions, linking with the rest of the team in a way Campbell didn’t, and at least forced a save from Schmeichel.

Zaha – 6 – His arrival coincided with Palace putting the pressure on, but there were too few occasions when he beat his man and put in a good cross. I’m waiting to see a replay of the penalty claim as I’m sure there was contact but was Wilf already going down (Dean indicated a trailing leg clipping the defender).

Jedinak – 6 – Introduction gave us more steel in the middle, and Mile did try to press forward.