Despite having three days’ less preparation time than their hosts, Palace were much the better side in the opening half-an-hour at Old Trafford and were good value for the 1-0 lead bestowed upon them at half-time thanks to Maxence Lacroix’s early header.
But after a controversial moment led to Lacroix being dismissed and the hosts being awarded a penalty, United completed a second-half turnaround to leave Palace frustrated – but by no means forlorn, according to Richards.
“It’s a tough one,” the United States international told Palace TV. “I think it was a game of ups and downs.
“In the first-half we were riding that wave. After the goal I think we did well until probably the last 10 or 15 minutes. We wanted to get to half-time with the 1-0.
“The second-half started off a bit hectic, and the red card happened. They got a lot of momentum.
“But honestly I think we ended the game pretty well. That’s pretty much how the cookie crumbled today.
“Overall, they’re still a good side and I think we can take a lot of positives from the game. At this point, we’ve got to keep looking forward.
“We still have a lot of big games coming up this season, so I don’t think we should let ourselves get too down after a result like today.”