Manchester United earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace today after Casemiro received his marching orders for violent conduct.
Bruno Fernandes gave the hosts an early lead via a penalty when Will Hughes was correctly penalised for a handball.
The rising tensions at Old Trafford were put to bed when Marcus Rashford sidefooted Luke Shaw’s threading cross into the net to double United’s lead.
The Red Devils were in complete control of the game until Jeffrey Schlupp sent Antony flying into the corner, flaring up the two sets of players.
The referee Andre Marriner flashed his red card to Casemiro who was deemed guilty of putting his hands around Hughes’ throat.
The Eagles swarmed into United’s half after the incident, utilising the extra man advantage.
Schlupp’s smart finish reduced the goal deficit to one, which made the last 15 minutes of the game highly intriguing.
United survived the final minutes to claim the victory, which increased the gap between them and fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur to six points.
Here are our three points from this nailbiting game.
Casemiro receives a ridiculous red card
Schlupp clattered with Antony and pushed him to the advertising boards, leading to a shoving contest between the two teams.
Both Schulpp and Antony were shown a yellow card but VAR intervened, asking the referee Andre Marriner to check the monitor for a possible red card.
Casemiro was caught grabbing Hughes by his neck, albeit with the intention to push him away. Marriner had no doubt about brandishing the red card to the former Real Madrid midfielder.
Erik ten Hag was on point with his substitutions
With a 1-0 lead in their bag, United dominated the game but were inefficient in the final third.
Ten Hag spotted this and replaced Wout Weghorst with Alejandro Garnacho on the hour mark.
This allowed Rashford to switch to the central position where he could have a clear sight of the goal.
After just two minutes of this change, Shaw delivered a great ball into the six-yard box which Rashford turned past Palace’s goalkeeper into the net.
The Eagles threw the kitchen sink at United after the red card. To combat the pressure from visitors, Ten Hag replaced Wan-Bissaka and Garnacho with Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire.
The manager knows precisely when to make changes in the game, and he is not afraid to make some harsh calls.
Lisandro Martinez reigns supreme again
The Argentine has been phenomenal since he arrived from Ajax in the summer. Today, he was United’s best player on the pitch.
He has been questioned due to his short height, but today was just another example of why being tall should not be a criterion for centre-backs.
Palace’s forwards tried to target him during the aerial duels, but he came out on top every time.
He won five duels and made seven ball recoveries. His ball distribution was as smooth as ever, finishing the game with 92% passing accuracy. Long may it continue.