Manchester United vs Crystal Palace. Premier League.
Old TraffordAttendance73,420.
Report and free match highlights as Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford earn Manchester United victory over Crystal Palace, despite Casemiro's second-half red card; Jeffrey Schlupp pulls late goal back for Eagles
Sunday 5 February 2023 10:43, UK
Casemiro's mindless red card turned a routine victory into a nail-biting finale as Man Utd held on to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Old Trafford.
Before the Brazilian was dismissed by a VAR review for putting his hands around Will Hughes' neck, United appeared to be in cruise control and led 2-0 through an early Bruno Fernandes penalty and Marcus Rashford's smart finish.
But after they were reduced to 10 men and Jeffrey Schlupp's snapshot gave Palace hope of a comeback, they crumbled and almost threw away victory in the final minutes.
Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eberiche Eze both went close to stretching Palace's unbeaten record against United to three games, but United weathered the storm to limp over the line to a 13th consecutive home victory.
Man Utd's long winning streak at Old Trafford harks back to the era of Patrick Vieira's playing career - and the visiting manager was as aware as anyone of the dangers posed by an in-form home side.
With that in mind, VAR alerting Marriner to an accidental but blatant Hughes handball barely five minutes in, with Fernandes then sending Guaita the wrong way from 12 yards, was about as far as possible from the opening he wanted from his side.
Things did get better for the Eagles but only once they had survived a number of waves of United pressure. Wout Weghorst's header from a corner forced a strong one-handed stop from Guaita, and Fred was inches away from beating the Spaniard at his near post.
Palace were wasteful with the ball when they did have it and could only muster a 25-yard drive from Schlupp in the first half. They re-emerged with renewed vigour and enjoyed a few near misses, but found themselves 2-0 down to the move of the game.
Seven of United's players were involved in the build-up around the edge of the Palace box, before a ball through to Luke Shaw was squared for Rashford to side-foot home.
At that point, it seemed like United were cruising to three points, and they may have done had they kept 11 men on the pitch. But once a VAR review picked up Casemiro's hands around Hughes' neck during a 20-man melee, everything changed.
Odsonne Edouard fired in a warning shot within moments from 20 yards before Marc Guehi headed straight at De Gea from a corner. Moments later they had their foothold, as Schlupp hooked Doucoure's wayward shot past the goalkeeper from close range.
When Eze scuffed a presentable chance wide Ten Hag decided he had seen enough and moved to a back five - subbing off substitute Alejandro Garnacho to end a 28-minute cameo - but Palace still should have levelled.
A cross from the dangerous Michael Olise was half-cleared by De Gea but returned into the area for Mateta, who had to hit the target from six yards but nodded over with the goal gaping.
United held on unscathed through the rest of seven minutes of additional time to secure their longest run of home wins for more than a decade, and leave any problems caused by Casemiro's absence for another day.
Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag:
"The player from Crystal Palace takes a big risk. Antony could be badly injured by pushing him across the line. Then everyone reacts - our players and their players.
"There's a player who did even worse than Casemiro. You have to be consistent as a VAR. Last week when Eriksen was injured, no intervention from VAR. Martinez was running for 2 weeks with a lump on his eyebrow after Mateta elbowed him when we played at Crystal Palace. This isn't right.
"Casemiro is protecting our player, and protecting the player, holding him back. If Casemiro should have been sent off, many more players should have been sent off."
Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira:
"I didn't see the red card, I was far from it. The game has to be played with respect, and sometimes when you don't respect your opponent, things can happen.
"The player from United was looking for it, and he created this situation. But it's about remaining calm, concentrate on what you want to do, and I was pleased with the character we showed today.
"It was a tough game, really tough decision from the referees. But we tried to play with a lot of discipline, we conceded the first goal and it was tough for us but we managed to stay into the game."
Man Utd next face an unusual double header against old rivals Leeds, first hosting them at Old Trafford on Wednesday; kick-off 8pm. They then travel to Elland Road, live on Sky Sports, four days later on Sunday February 12; kick-off 2pm.
Crystal Palace host Brighton in the M23 Derby next weekend on Saturday February 11; kick-off 3pm. Their next game is a trip across London to face Brentford on Saturday February 18; kick-off 3pm.
