These days, more and more Premier League matches are essentially attack against defence. While one team will dominate the ball, circulating possession until an opening appears, the other will sit deep, restrict space and seek to break at speed when possible.

So, on which side of that divide are Manchester United? This weekend, it was most certainly the former. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side enjoyed 71 per cent of the ball against Crystal Palace, with 22 attempts on goal compared to five, and yet they lost 2-1.

It all could have gone very differently. United were essentially beaten by two preventable errors: Victor Lindelof losing a header to Jeffrey Schlupp for the first goal and David de Gea’s stoppage-time, near-post fumble for the second.

It was a poor defeat but one that Solskjaer could – and did – put down to bad luck, but it also corresponded to a concerning trend that he should not blithely ignore.

United have had more than 60 per cent of the ball in 11 of Solskjaer’s 32 games in charge. Of those 11, they have won five, drawn three and lost three. So far, so unremarkable. But add a little context and you realise that four of those five wins were Solskjaer’s first four games as caretaker over the Christmas period, before January’s Dubai training camp.

Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings David de Gea - 4 MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 24: David de Gea and Harry Maguire of Manchester United react to conceding a goal to Patrick van Aanholt of Crystal Palace during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on August 24, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images) John Peters Manchester United via Getty Imag Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 6 MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 24: Jeffery Schlupp of Crystal Palace is tackled by Aaron Wan-Bissaka of Manchester United during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on August 24, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images) Jan Kruger Getty Images Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Harry Maguire - 7 MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 24: David de Gea and Harry Maguire of Manchester United react to conceding a goal to Patrick van Aanholt of Crystal Palace during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on August 24, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images) John Peters Manchester United via Getty Imag Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Victor Lindelof - 5 MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 24: Victor Lindelof of Manchester United reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on August 24, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) Michael Regan Getty Images Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Luke Shaw - 6 Crystal Palace's James McArthur and Manchester United's Luke Shaw (right) battle for the ballduring the Premier League match at Old Trafford, Manchester. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday August 24, 2019. See PA story SOCCER Man Utd. Photo credit should read: Nigel French/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: EDITORIAL USE ONLY No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Nigel French PA Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Scott McTominay - 5 MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 24: Scott McTominay of Manchester United in action with Jordan Ayew of Crystal Palace during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on August 24, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images) Matthew Peters Manchester United via Getty Imag Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Paul Pogba - 6 Manchester United's Paul Pogba leaves the pitch at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford in Manchester, England Saturday, Aug, 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Alastair Grant AP Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Daniel James - 7 MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 24: Daniel James of Manchester United celebrates scoring their first goal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on August 24, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images) John Peters Manchester United via Getty Imag Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Jesse Lingard - 5 epa07790487 Manchester United's Jesse Lingard (R) in action against Crystal Palace's James McArthur during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford in Manchester, Britain, 24 August 2019. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. 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No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details. PAUL CHILDS Action Images via Reuters Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Martin Kelly - 6 Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Crystal Palace - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - August 24, 2019 Manchester United's Marcus Rashford in action with Crystal Palace's Martin Kelly REUTERS/Andrew Yates EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details. ANDREW YATES REUTERS Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Gary Cahill - 6 Crystal Palace's Gary Cahill gestures during the Premier League match at Old Trafford, Manchester. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday August 24, 2019. See PA story SOCCER Man Utd. Photo credit should read: Nigel French/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: EDITORIAL USE ONLY No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Nigel French PA Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Partick van Aanholt - 8 Crystal Palace's Patrick van Aanholt, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford in Manchester, England Saturday, Aug, 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Alastair Grant AP Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings James McArthur - 6 MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 24: Paul Pogba of Manchester United in action with James McArthur of Crystal Palace during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on August 24, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images) Matthew Peters Manchester United via Getty Imag Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Chiekhou Kouyate - 8 Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Crystal Palace - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - August 24, 2019 Crystal Palace's Cheikhou Kouyate in action with Manchester United's Daniel James Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. 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(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) Michael Regan Getty Images Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Jeffrey Schlupp - 8 Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Crystal Palace - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - August 24, 2019 Crystal Palace's Jeffrey Schlupp in action with Manchester United's Paul Pogba REUTERS/Andrew Yates EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details. ANDREW YATES REUTERS Manchester United vs Crystal Palace player ratings Jordan Ayew - 8 Crystal Palace's Jordan Ayew celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford in Manchester, England Saturday, Aug, 24, 2019. 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Since then, United have rarely dominated possession in a game and won it. If anything, the opposite is true. Burnley, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Huddersfield Town, Cardiff City and now Palace have all been decidedly second-best against Solskjaer’s side and yet have still taken a point or three.

The lesson for ‘lesser’ opposition is clear: let United have the ball and they will probably not beat you.

In fairness, dominate possession against Solskjaer’s United and they may still hurt you. Chelsea, West Ham and even second-tier Reading have come to Old Trafford since the turn of the year and seen more of the ball than their hosts, yet all three returned south defeated.

United have had less than 40 per cent possession in eight games under Solskjaer, winning four and drawing once. The wins – away at Tottenham, in the FA Cup at Arsenal and Chelsea and that remarkable night in Paris – are the best nights of his spell to date. The 3-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain was achieved with less than a third of the ball.

In fact, put those first four dominant wins in charge to one side and Solskjaer’s previous 28 games now split evenly into two camps: 14 where United had more possession than their opponents, 14 where they did not. United won only four of the 14 games in which they saw more of the ball, but won nine of 14 in which they saw less.

Marcus Rashford reacts after missing a penalty (PA)

All of which raises the question: what exactly is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United? It appears to be a team which is happy to surrender the battle for possession in favour of focusing on a fast, direct, counter-attacking approach. That would certainly chime with how Solskjaer says he wants his side to play.

But while that approach may be very well in the Parc des Princes or produce a few useful results against fellow members of the top six, the vast majority of United’s league games this season will not be against elite opponents. They will largely follow the same pattern as Saturday, with Solskjaer’s side expected to be the aggressors.

The Premier League’s very best accept this when they face the so-called ‘bottom 14’, and do so without sacrificing their dominance of the ball. Manchester City are the most possession-orientated side in English football’s history, though no less successful for it. Their variation and intricacy in their final-third play means they can bypass any deep-set defence.

There have been fleeting examples of United doing the same. The build-up to Anthony Martial’s goal in Solskjaer’s first game against Cardiff springs to mind, while the breakthrough at Molineux last Monday is a much more recent example. But more often than not, United’s attack flounders when up against an organised backline.

So it was on Saturday, when only two of those 22 attempts could be described as chances. Both were half-chances, at that. United otherwise looked like a team who have become so accustomed to breaking into space on the counter-attack, they have forgotten how to penetrate opponents who are happy to sit back.