Matheus Cunha played a huge role as Manchester United defeated Crystal Palaceplaceholder image
Matheus Cunha played a huge role as Manchester United defeated Crystal Palace | Getty Images
Man Utd came from behind to defeat Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Maxence Lacroix headed Palace into an early lead at Old Trafford, but the game turned on its head when the defender was sent off for a foul on Cunha right on the edge of the area. After a lengthy VAR check, it was determined that the foul occurred in the Palace box and that the 25-year-old should be handed a straight red card for his actions.
Fernandes stepped up to bury the penalty kick into the back of the net, and he went on to assist the winner as Benjamin Sesko headed in the decisive goal against the 10 men of Palace. United had looked much better for the final stages of the first half and came out of the blocks flying after the restart, though the visitors couldn't help but think the game swung on the controversial penalty incident.
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'Smart' play from Cunha decided the match
Speaking after Manchester United defeated Crystal Palace over the weekend, manager Oliver Glasner and defender Chris Richards both described Matheus Cunha as 'smart' for the role he played in winning the penalty kick.
"When you're playing away at a place like Old Trafford, more than likely the home team is going to get a call like that but that is the nature of the game," Richards told Sky Sports.
"Matheus Cunha is a smart player, he knows how to play and if you feel a tug in the box, you're going to go down so credit to him for that. It hurt us a bit of course going a man down but you can't take anything away from our performance today. Regardless of how many people we have on the pitch, we still put in a good performance."
Those thoughts were echoed by Palace head coach Glasner, who also aimed a sly dig at Cunha in his post-match press conference. “It still feels that more was possible today,” he said. “We had a great first 30 minutes. I think at the end, in the first half, we became a little bit too passive. We had a few set-pieces on the other side and we had the lead at Old Trafford. There would always be periods where they made pressure.
“Then, the red card changed the game completely. I think it’s a very harsh decision – a penalty and a red card – because the foul started outside the box and usually the foul is to be given when it starts. On the other side, Matheus Cunha was very smart to wait until he was inside the box, and then the referee decided.”
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