Manchester United survived a late scare to record a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
Marcus Rashford added to an early Bruno Fernandes penalty to send the Red Devils two goals ahead just past the hour, but Casemiro was then sent off for the home side before Jeffrey Schlupp halved the deficit in the 76th minute, setting up a grandstand finish in Manchester.
Erik ten Hag's side managed to navigate their way through the rest of the contest, which included seven additional minutes, to claim all three points, though, with the result moving them into third spot in the table above Newcastle United.
Man United were awarded a penalty in the fifth minute of the contest when Will Hughes handled a Rashford cross inside the box, and Fernandes stepped forward to send the home side into the lead, slotting the ball into the bottom corner, with Vicente Guaita guessing the wrong way.
The Red Devils came close to a second in the 13th minute when Wout Weghorst headed towards the top corner, but Guaita was on hand to make a smart save before Raphael Varane had a goal-bound strike blocked.
Guaita was again called into action in the 27th minute to keep out a strike from Rashford, before the Palace goalkeeper denied Antony from distance.
Rashford again tried his luck in the 31st minute, firing over the crossbar from distance, before Fred just missed the post with a low strike after Weghorst had found his teammate with a low cross.
David de Gea had to make a smart save to keep out a powerful Schlupp strike in the 42nd minute, with Man United leading by one goal at the interval.
The first half-chance of the second half came for Man United in the 56th minute, with Rashford firing just over the Palace crossbar after working his way into the penalty box.
© Reuters
Man United doubled their lead in the 63rd minute, with Rashford getting his name on the scoresheet, as the forward converted a brilliant low cross from Luke Shaw.
There was a bust-up involving a number of players in the 65th minute of the contest following a challenge on Antony from Schlupp, which led to both players receiving yellow cards.
The referee was then sent to the monitor to have a look at Casemiro's conduct, with the Brazilian having this hands round the neck of Hughes, and a red card was issued to the Brazilian midfielder.
Odsonne Edouard fired one over the Man United crossbar in the period that followed, before Marc Guehi had a close-range header brilliantly kept out by De Gea.
Palace had one back in the 76th minute, though, when Schlupp guided the ball home with a clever flick after the home side had failed to deal with a corner.
The Eagles were very much the team on the front foot in the spell that followed, and there was almost an equaliser in the 88th minute through Jean-Philippe Mateta, but Fernandes did well to put the striker off as he jumped to meet a dangerous cross from the left.
Marcel Sabitzer had been introduced for his Man United debut, and it was a rearguard effort in the closing stages, with Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof also entering the field for the hosts.
Palace were finding it difficult to get the ball up the field in the seven additional minutes, though, and Ten Hag's side managed to hold on to pick up a vital three points in their fight for a top-four finish.
Next up for Man United is a home game against Leeds United on Wednesday, while Palace will be bidding to return to winning ways when they host Brighton & Hove Albion next Saturday.
Matt Law
