Man Utd 2-1 Crystal Palace: Player ratings as Red Devils win despite Casemiro red card
By Sean Walsh
Manchester United picked up their first Premier League win since January 14 with a tense 2-1 victory at home to Crystal Palace.
Star midfielder Casemiro will miss the next three matches through suspension after picking up a silly red card in the second half, though the Red Devils were just about able to hold on to claim the three points on Saturday.
With only four minutes on the clock, VAR took a lengthy look for a possible handball against Will Hughes, and referee Andre Marriner pointed to the spot after being sent to the monitor. Bruno Fernandes stepped up and made no mistake to give United an early lead, ending a run of three penalties without scoring.
A looping header from Wout Weghorst was tipped away by Vicente Guaita as the hosts' early domination continued.
United won the ball high up the pitch from a Palace goal kick and Fernandes managed to slip Marcus Rashford through in the right channel, but his shot was palmed away.
From the resulting corner, Antony cut onto his left foot and was next to take aim at Guaita, but again the Spaniard was largely untroubled.
Fred came close to doubling the lead when he met a cutback through the box from Weghorst, only for the Brazilian to poke the shot just wide of the near post.
David de Gea was called into action for the first time towards the end of the first half when Jeffrey Schlupp let fly from distance, getting down low to push the Ghanaian's strike away from danger.
After the break, Odsonne Edouard looked to make a dart towards goal after freeing himself down the left, only for Lisandro Martinez to come over to meet him and dispossess him just in time.
Palace looked the more threatening early in the second half but Martinez was largely on hand to sweep up, while the unusually quiet Marcus Rashford fired over from just inside the box after being well spotted by Fernandes.
After being shifted up front, Rashford rediscovered his shooting boots and added United's second, tapping in from a driven Luke Shaw cross.
However, United's mood was dampened with 20 minutes remaining as VAR spotted Casemiro grabbing Hughes by the throat with two hands in a melee involving several players, and the Brazilian was sent off.
Palace pulled one back in the final quarter of an hour when Schlupp swept in from a corner with a superb instinctive volley.
Substitute Ebere Eze was denied from close range by a flying block from Martinez as United's composure continued to run thin.
Erik ten Hag threw on two more centre-backs in Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof in order to help maintain their narrow lead, though De Gea had to fist away a couple of crosses almost immediately after their introduction.
United survived over eight minutes of stoppage time to claim the victory and boost their hopes of a top-four finish.
Manchester United player ratings
GK: David de Gea - 7/10 - Could probably have held some crosses but at least made some important saves down the stretch.
RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 7/10 - Linked up well with Antony and proved useful on the overlap.
CB: Raphael Varane - 6/10 - Defended with confidence, though was troubled a bit in the second half, particularly after the red card.
CB: Lisandro Martinez - 9/10 - Again the more aggressive of United's centre-backs, winning pretty much every ground duel he engaged in. Hero of the hour.
LB: Luke Shaw - 7/10 - Shuffled across when United committed further men forward and was a decent outlet himself.
CM: Casemiro - 3/10 - Waltzed his way through another midfield battle before stupidly being sent off and putting his teammates under huge pressure.
CM: Fred - 7/10 - Afforded the licence to roam further forward. Made himself a nuisance without reward, but dug in deep to help the cause with ten men.
RM: Antony - 5/10 - Still lacking in dynamism and trickery but played some neat passes and positioned himself well in attack.
AM: Bruno Fernandes - 8/10 - The heart and soul of United's possession and attacks. Set the tone with his cool early penalty.
LM: Marcus Rashford - 7/10 - Isolated when out wide but looked like his potent scoring self when moved up front.
CF: Wout Weghorst - 6/10 - Wasn't always involved but put himself about and was useful when in possession.
Substitutes
Alejandro Garnacho (59' for Weghorst) - 6/10
Marcel Sabitzer (81' for Antony) - N/A
Victor Lindelof (87' for Wan-Bissaka) - N/A
Harry Maguire (87' for Garnacho) - N/A
Manager
Erik ten Hag - 8/10 - United were dominant with 11 men and he made the necessary changes to take the sting out of the game when reduced to ten.
Crystal Palace player ratings
GK: Vicente Guaita - 7/10 - Did all he reasonable could to keep United out.
RB: Nathaniel Clyne - 6/10 - Managed to ensure the wingers down his side were relatively quiet.
CB: Chris Richards - 4/10 - Had trouble trying to pin Weghorst and then Rashford down.
CB: Marc Guehi - 5/10 - Caught in possession on a couple of occasions. Partnership with Richards still needs some fine-tuning.
LB: Tyrick Mitchell - 5/10 - Attempted to use his pace to stretch the play and launch counter attacks but to little success.
CM: Cheick Doucoure - 6/10 - Rather overwhelmed by Casemiro and Fred. Grabbed an assist late on.
CM: Will Hughes - 4/10 - Such a daft penalty to give away and gave Palace a mountain to climb.
RM: Jordan Ayew - 4/10 - Easy to forget he was even playing.
AM: Michael Olise - 6/10 - The source of Palace's smartest attacks, though these were usually set plays.
LM: Jeffrey Schlupp - 7/10 - Showed his ability to carry the ball in stretches but not consistently, though took his goal very well.
CF: Odsonne Edouard - 5/10 - Failed to provide a constant threat.
Substitutes
Albert Sambi Lokonga (73' for Hughes) - 5/10
Ebere Eze (73' for Ayew) - 6/10
Naouirou Ahamada (83' for Doucoure) - N/A
Jean-Philippe Mateta (83' for Schlupp) - N/A
Manager
Patrick Vieira - 5/10 - Palace were ineffective for 70 minutes and their fightback came too late.