Manchester United are third in the league after beating Crystal Palace, but Casemiro’s three-game ban will compound problems for Erik ten Hag.
— Manchester United hung on for a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace despite playing the last 20 minutes with 10 men after Casemiro was sent off. An early penalty from Bruno Fernandes and another Marcus Rashford goal had United cruising at 2-0 before Casemiro was shown a straight red for violent conduct after a VAR check.
Palace took advantage of their extra man to pull a goal back through Jeffrey Schlupp but United were able to hold on to win and move up to third in the Premier League table.
JUMP TO: Best/worst performers | Highlights and notable moments | Postmatch quotes | Key stats | Upcoming fixtures
Everything was going so well when Rashford put United 2-0 up in the 62nd minute but then Casemiro was sent off and everything changed. The Brazilian was shown a straight red card for violent conduct after VAR Tony Harrington had spotted him putting his hands around Will Hughes‘ neck during a melee on the touchline.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
When Schlupp made it 2-1 with 15 minutes still to play, you wondered whether United were about to throw away two points but some resilient defending and a lack of real threat from Palace meant Ten Hag’s team were able to hang on for their 13th consecutive win at Old Trafford.
The only thing that soured it was Casemiro’s moment of madness and probably the most important player in United’s team will now miss the next three games because of the resulting suspension. It’s fortunate the club were able to bring in Marcel Sabitzer on deadline because he has suddenly become very important in Ten Hag’s midfield.
There is a problem developing for Ten Hag around what to do with his strikers. He wants to play with Martial as his centre forward but the Frenchman can’t stay fit. Weghorst, the back up striker signed in January, is struggling for form and the one player scoring goals, Rashford, is most dangerous when he’s playing out wide.
Martial is averaging a goal every 120 minutes this season but was missing from the squad against Palace after picking up another injury against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday. It’s Martial’s fifth separate injury lay-off this season and it’s only February.
