Benjamin Sesco celebrated his first start under Michael Carrick with a winner as Manchester United came from behind to beat 10-a-side Crystal Palace 2-1 to move into third place for the first time since May 2023.
Sesco’s header from Bruno Fernandes’ cross was the Slovenian’s fourth goal in five games, but the game ultimately changed when Palace defender Maxence Lacroix was sent off 10 minutes into the second half.
The Frenchman was adjudged to have pulled back Matheus Cunha who had entered the penalty area and Chris Kavanagh, after an initial hesitation, pointed to the spot, but the Eagles’ misfortune worsened when a subsequent VAR review saw Lacroix sent off for denying a clear scoring opportunity. Fernandes duly pulled the hosts from the spot.
Palace manager Oliver Glasner felt that environment may have played a role in the decision, saying: sky sports“This is a very severe red card. Usually the foul is where the first contact took place, and it definitely starts outside the box. The referee decided it was a penalty and a red card, probably because of the Old Trafford bonus.”
After Lacroix himself took the lead in the fourth minute, Palace dominated much of the game until Fernandes’ penalty, and although Man United had returned to being a good side after the break, they were unable to test goalkeeper Dean Henderson until Kavanagh’s intervention.
However, with the man advantage they looked certain to continue their upward momentum under Carrick, completing the comeback just eight minutes after Sesco’s excellent header for the equalizing goal.
Man United also moved up to third place, ahead of Aston Villa, while extending their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 11 games, but Crystal Palace slipped back to 15th as Brighton beat Nottingham Forest to move up the table.
Dawson: Officials got everything right regarding Lacroix’s foul
Sky Sports’ Michael Dawson said this about Super Sunday:
“It’s a foul. A great ball from Fernandes on the wing. Cunha escapes from Lacroix, who has his hands up.”
“Was it enough for Cunha to go down? Did it go from the outside to the inside? You can still see the hand on Cunha’s shoulder.
“Whether you have two fingers or a full hand, it continues. In my opinion, that’s a penalty.
About red cards: “Is that denying him a chance to score? In my opinion, yes. The moment he goes goalside and goes down, that’s a chance for Cunha to score.”
Palace ‘could have done more,’ Glasner says.
crystal palace manager Oliver Glasner above sky sports:
“When you’re 1-1 and you’re down for more than 30 minutes…we had a game three days ago, they could be off the whole week, so of course that affected the game.
“We tried everything and they got a great header from Sesco. We had two against him so we could have defended better. He attacked the ball and we didn’t.”
“If you want to get something, you can’t afford to make mistakes at Old Trafford. We made too many, two very crucial mistakes. The performance was completely fine.”
Carrick talks about Manchester United’s ‘big step’ against Palace
manchester united head coach michael carrick above sky sports:
“I’m really happy. It was a test for us to be goalless at half-time. It was new for us. We didn’t start the game well but credit to Palace. As the first half went on we grew into the game. In the second half we stepped up again.”
“It was a big thing to overcome losing an early goal at home against a team that is difficult to break down. It was a big step for us. I was really happy with the way the players worked and responded.”
About Benjamin Sesko: “Ben is here to score goals and he’s been doing plenty of that lately. He’s going to be an important player – he’s already an important player – and he’s going to become even more important as he progresses and improves.
“There was no drama at the start today, it was a natural decision. Amad came on and we rotated a little bit. Ben scoring that goal was a really important goal for us. It was a great header.”