Premier League: United split point with Palace, Liverpool get easy win against Watford

A tepid Manchester United dented their hopes of catching up with the Premier League's top four after failing to spark in a dour 0-0 home draw with 15th-placed Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The result left United in seventh place on 21 points from 13 games, 14 adrift of leaders Manchester City and six behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who were hosting third-placed Chelsea in the 1730 GMT kick-off.Striker Romelu Lukaku returned to United's starting line-up after being dropped in four previous games in all competitions but he looked rusty and the home side were fortunate to scrape a share of the spoils against the more adventurous visitors.

Wilfried Zaha and Patrick Van Aanholt came close for Palace in the opening half and Cheikhou Kouyate had a goal correctly disallowed for marginal offside, while keeper Wayne Hennessey denied Jesse Lingard at the other end.
Lukaku also had a goal scrapped for fractional offside in the 57th minute before Andros Townsend spurned a gilt-edged chance for Palace when he shot wide from 10 metres after a good solo run.
Having introduced Marcus Rashford and Alexis Sanchez in the second half, United manager Jose Mourinho finished the match with all his forwards on the pitch but the home side failed to carve out any supply routes in the closing stages.

Liverpool stay in hunt:

Liverpool maintained pressure on table-topping Manchester City with three second-half goals sealing a comfortable 3-0 victory at Watford on Saturday.After a largely uneventful first half, Mohamed Salah put the ball past Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster in the 67th minute before England defender Trent Alexander-Arnold scored a stunning second goal.

The 20-year-old beat Foster with a brilliant whipped free kick from 25 metres nine minutes later, before his international team mate Jordan Henderson was dismissed for a second bookable offence.Liverpool were not hindered by their numerical disadvantage, however, with Roberto Firmino adding a late third goal as the visitors extended their unbeaten start to the Premier League season to 13 games.

Juergen Klopp's side remain second with 33 points and trail Champions City by two points after Pep Guardiola's side beat West Ham United 4-0 on Saturday. Watford slipped to eighth after a third game without victory.

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