Patrick Vieira: Crystal Palace lacked bravery in 1-0 defeat at Manchester United

Patrick Vieira was frustrated by Crystal Palace’s lack of bravery against Manchester United as they fell to a late defeat courtesy of a Fred strike from the edge of the box.

The Eagles had their best chance of the afternoon in the 74th minute when Jordan Ayew met Tyrick Mitchell’s corner at the back post. But the Ghanaian international, who hasn’t scored for the club since the 4-1 win over Leeds United in November 2020, placed his effort wide.

Palace are winless since the international break and have only picked up one point in their last four games.

The Frenchman made two changes from the side that lost 1-0 to Leeds United in midweek – Nathaniel Clyne and Christian Benteke coming in for Joel Ward and Odsonne Edouard.

“We weren’t brave enough to find those players in between the line,” said Vieira. “We didn’t make the right decision to play forward – we played too many long balls, and that’s not what we’re used to.

“There were, at times, opportunities to move the ball quicker and be brave enough to play forward, and we didn’t do it.

“We didn’t create enough because we didn’t use the ball well enough. In the first half, and even in the second, there were more opportunities to find those players in between the line.

“We weren’t brave enough in possession, and this was one of the frustrations that I had about the game today – we didn’t use the ball like we used to or well enough to give them more problems.”

Vieira’s side only managed two shots on target at Old Trafford and have failed to score in their previous two outings.

Speaking on his side’s inability to play their natural expansive style in recent games, Vieira added: “It’s two faces of the game – you have the ball, or you don’t have the ball.

“In the last couple of games, defensively, we have done some good stuff, but what has let us down a little bit is that, when we had possession, we didn’t take enough risk to play and create difficulties for the opposition teams.”