Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville criticizes Bruno Fernandes' performance against Crystal Palace 

Former Manchester United full-back Gary Neville has criticized Bruno Fernandes for his "sloppy performance" against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.

Manchester United headed to Selhurst Park knowing that only a win would keep them in the Premier League title race. Leaders Manchester City piled the pressure on the Red Devils with a 4-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday night.

However, Manchester United were unable to cope with the pressure as they produced a poor performance against Crystal Palace. The Red Devils came away with a 0-0 draw against Roy Hodgson's men, with second-choice keeper Dean Henderson's performance in goal being the only positive from the game.

Manchester United's latest draw marks their third on the bounce in all competitions and their sixth in the Premier League this season. The result leaves them fourteen points behind Manchester City and just one point above third-placed Leicester City.

Gary Neville was highly critical of his former side's performance. He said on Sky Sports:

"They look worn, I have to say. We know the fans arent in the stadium, we know there's a lot of football but they did really look lethargic tonight and well off it.

"The body language just looked really drained and I thought progress in the last few weeks had been made in the sense that they would cement that second place by picking up three points at places like Crystal Palace, obviously Sheffield at home, West Brom, but they're now making it really hard for themselves."

Neville also criticized Bruno Fernandes for his lethargic performance. The Portugal international has been in scintillating form in recent weeks but was largely anonymous against Crystal Palace.

"He was sloppy from the first few minutes and he's not been at his best these last couple of weeks. Maybe there's a suggestion that he's run himself into the ground and that could be true but you've got to have things happening in front of you as well."

Gary Neville predicts 'day of reckoning' for Solskjaer and Dean Henderson at Manchester United #mufc https://t.co/nXhjtbA9GR

— Man United News (@ManUtdMEN) March 3, 2021

Manchester United at risk of getting into a dogfight for the Champions League places, according to Gary Neville

Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes put in a dismal performance against Crystal Palace

Manchester United's 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace has paved the way for the likes of Leicester City, West Ham, Chelsea and Liverpool to close the gap on the Red Devils in the Premier League table.

🗣️ "Chelsea and Liverpool will be watching that thinking they have a real chance"@GNev2 fears Manchester United may be sleepwalking into a real fight to stay in the top four this seasonpic.twitter.com/TKSPhHBFKm

— Sky Sports (@SkySports) March 3, 2021

According to Gary Neville, Manchester United's recent run of form has put them in a position where they will have to fight for the Champions League places until the end of the season. He said:

"If you're Liverpool and Chelsea watching that tonight, and they play tomorrow night, you'd be thinking, 'We're in with a real chance!' because they look leggy."