Five things learned as Manchester United draw to Crystal Palace (Premier League)

Manchester United’s winning run has come to an end as Crystal Palace’s late equaliser sunk Erik ten Hag’s heart to share the spoils.

Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring for Manchester United with a lovely curling finish just before half time, however a rather brilliant free kick from Michael Olise saw Crystal Palace grab a late equalising goal.

Here are five things UtdDistrict learned from the fixture:

1) Wout Weghorst likes to get involved

Contrary to what many think a striker who stands at 197cm tall likes to do, it was obvious from the early stages that Weghorst wants to do a lot more than just stand on the centre-backs and nod the ball in from close range.

Even in the opening moments he was involved in the build up, laying balls off for the likes of Fernandes and Rashford to run through.

2) Marcus Rashford’s intelligence is showing

For Fernandes’ goal, it was Rashford’s inch-perfect through-ball to Christian Eriksen that created the chance to start with.

Last season, Rashford may not have spotted the pass or tried to drive at the defence himself, however the work Erik ten Hag and Benni McCarthy have done with him in the last six months is paying off brilliantly.

3) David de Gea is staying sharp

Despite having almost nothing to do in the opening 40 minutes, the sudden need for a world class save was required as a looping Odsonne Édouard was heading over his head until the final moment, when De Gea tipped the ball onto the bar.

It was this save which triggered a huge shift in life of the match, with both teams bursting with energy in that moment – energy which Fernandes converted into a smart finish just as the first half drew to a close.

It happened once again in the 75th minute, with De Gea diving brilliantly to deny a Crystal Palace equaliser from a corner, despite being on power-saving mode for the majority of the fixture.

In terms of the final goal, there comes a point where it’s hard to blame De Gea, as the free kick was simply just that well placed.

4) Martinez-Varane is back up and running

Since domestic football returned, this is the first fixture in which Manchester United’s usual starting centre-back pairing actually started a fixture together, making it over two months since they last paired from the beginning of a match.

It didn’t feel like that, though. The pair slotted straight back into their usual roles and marshalled Wilfried Zaha, Olise and Edouard with their usual aplomb, however Olise’s spectacular effort in the final moments should not take away from their performance.

5) The winning run comes to an end

This was the first time United had not come away with all three points for a month, and it was a game to forget for the Red Devils. The rather poor performance combined with a late equaliser is an unfortunate ending to the run, however Ten Hag will look to invigorate his side once again as United look to Arsenal.