Phil Jones praises Manchester United star who “controlled the game” vs Crystal Palace

Phil Jones praised one Manchester United star who “controlled the game” during the club’s 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace on Saturday evening.

The Reds put in a commanding display at Crystal Palace, arguably their strongest performance of the season so far.

Despite controlling the game and creating several chances, Erik ten Hag’s men couldn’t find the breakthrough, leaving with just a point.

This result leaves United with seven points from their first five Premier League matches—an underwhelming start despite glimpses of potential.

Jones praises Dalot’s impact

It was a very good first-half display from United at Selhurst Park despite not scoring. They dominated the possession.

Former United defender Phil Jones was on punditry duty for the game on Sky Sports after announcing his retirement from football earlier this year.

He praised the impact of Diogo Dalot at half-time following United’s strong first-half performance.

Jones suggested that the Portuguese fullback’s inverted role caused major problems for Palace throughout and that the 25-year-old was “controlling the game” when moving centrally.

“You can see Dalot coming on the inside in the no.6 and controlling the game from there,” he said live on Sky Sports.

“United have been really good in possession and created a lot of chances.

“With Dalot coming inside, they’re creating overloads in midfield and causing Palace problems.”

One of the biggest chances in the first half came from Dalot receiving the ball while inverting and he played a wonderful pass in behind to Alejandro Garnacho, who smashed the crossbar with his shot.

Unfortunately, by the end of the game, it was a similar story for United, who failed to take their chances in the match.

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Thursday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.