Nemanja Matic's 12th-minute effort proved to be Manchester United's only shot on target as a limp 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace left them 14 points off leaders Manchester City
United dropped points for the seventh time in their last 10 Premier League games and never put up any real fight to earn three points in south London, with Palace, who had mustered only six shots in their previous two games, twice going close to a shock win
After Matic's early piledriver was turned behind by a full-stretch Vicente Guaita save, United stuttered throughout and were made to worry when Andros Townsend's volley flew just past Dean Henderson's far post after half-time
Late on, after Luke Shaw and Mason Greenwood had both missed opportunities, Patrick Van Aanholt - scorer of Palace's injury-time winner at Old Trafford in 2019 - was denied another winning contribution by Henderson's legs
But even gaining that point for United leaves their title challenge as good as over with a trip to leaders City, live on , to follow this weekend
Crystal Palace had never recorded a league double over Manchester United, so after a shock result in their opening-weekend win at Old Trafford, there was a chance to make history at Selhurst Park
The hosts began on the front foot, but failed to turn that into an early shot - not that an absence of chances had stopped them picking up four points from their last two games
 And once United began to assert their quality in possession, they stood firm
Matic's deflected drive forced Guaita into a finger-tip stop and Rashford fired a low effort wide from the edge of the area, but beyond those opportunities the hosts were largely untroubled, as United failed to click into gear in the final third
The first half proved so uneventful Andre Marriner opted against adding any injury time, and a managerial team-talk failed to spark any sort of life into the visitors, even knowing what was at stake in what remains of the title race
Instead, Townsend's well-struck volley bounced past Henderson's post after United failed to clear a free-kick, and Andre Ayew tested the goalkeeper from a tight angle from Christian Benteke's tee-up
Substitute Dan James would have proved an unlikely matchwinner had his 5ft 7ins frame directed Shaw's cross goalwards, but his glancing header was cleared behind by Gary Cahill as United offered a rare moment of concern
Two more followed in the dying minutes, with Greenwood and Shaw both firing wide from good positions, before Luka Milivojevic's through-ball released Van Aanholt, who was denied by Henderson's smart stop when clean through
Defeat would have been harsh on United in a balanced game but not undeserved, given their lack of intensity, but even a point does little for their hopes at the top - and again fails to put distance between themselves and third-placed Leicester
Crystal Palace boss  "There were some very good signs tonight about us getting back the composure we've lost in a couple of recent games
"We were playing through the midfield, we do have the quality players to do that, the return of Schlupp and return soon of McArthur and Zaha, that'll help us even more in that area
"It's not easy to create chances against United, as their run away from home shows
 And every time we've played United, as long as I've been here, it's always been a reason to celebrate when you get a result
"Manchester United manager : "It's not what we want, but that's the football we're playing in
 We're in the Premier League and you have to play better to win games
"We know we're in a battle to be as high in the table as possible
 You sometimes see results that go the way we don't expect
 We know we're in a fight and we need to pick up every point we can
""He's earned a clean sheet, and kept Edinson Cavani relatively quiet
 I know Manchester United have been poor, but he's been very good as part of that defence, alongside Gary Cahill
"Both teams are back on television this weekend with a pair of tasty cross-city derbies as part of  live on 
First off, Manchester United visit Manchester City from 4pm; Kick-off at 4
30pm
 Following that game, Crystal Palace's trip to Tottenham will follow from 7pm; Kick-off at 7
15pm
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