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England midfield duo Adam Wharton (left) and Kobbie Mainoo in action at Old Trafford At a glance Maxence Lacroix heads Crystal Palace into early lead Bruno Fernandes levels with controversial penalty as Lacroix sent off Benjamin Sesko scores winner - netting for third game in a row Manchester United climb above Aston Villa into third; Palace 14th PLAYER RATER Manchester United fought back to beat 10-man Crystal Palace and go third in the Premier League after a controversial penalty and red card decision. Palace were on course for a third straight win at Old Trafford when Maxence Lacroix, who had opened the scoring for the visitors in the fourth minute, grabbed at Matheus Cunha in the second half. Although the first contact was outside the penalty box, Lacroix did not let go as the Brazil forward entered the area. Cunha then went down and, after being sent to the screen, referee Chris Kavanagh stood by his initial decision to award a penalty - and also sent Lacroix off as the United attacker would have had a goalscoring opportunity. Bruno Fernandes fired the 57th-minute spot-kick past Dean Henderson to equalise, and Benjamin Sesko put the hosts in front eight minutes later when he powered home a header from Fernandes' cross. The Slovenia striker scored for the third successive game and took his tally to seven in his past eight matches. Former United goalkeeper Henderson prevented Casemiro from increasing the hosts' lead with a brilliant reaction save and later also stopped a dangerous effort from substitute Amad Diallo. The result extends Michael Carrick's record in charge to six wins and a draw from seven games and takes his side above Aston Villa into third on goal difference. It is the first time United have been as high as third since Erik ten Hag's first season in charge in 2023. Palace are 14th in the table, 10 points clear of the relegation zone, and will surely target the Conference League as another piece of silverware and European qualification before boss Oliver Glasner leaves the club this summer. More to follow. Have your say on Manchester United's performance What did you make of Crystal Palace's display Rate players out of 10 for this game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle. You must be signed in to a BBC account to play. After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 1st March 2026 at 15: 58 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Michael Carrick Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Oliver Glasner Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Manager: Michael Carrick Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Oliver Glasner Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Man Utd Manchester United Crystal Palace Crystal Palace High chance of scoring Medium chance of scoring Low chance of scoring Dominant period Match momentum measures the swing of the match by comparing each team’s threat to see who is more likely to score within that minute. The momentum value is the difference between each team’s most dangerous moment, or team threat, in that minute. Match momentum measures the swing of the match by comparing each team’s threat to see who is more likely to score within that minute. The momentum value is the difference between each team’s most dangerous moment, or team threat, in that minute. Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Man Utd Manchester United Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Man Utd Manchester United Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Man Utd Manchester United Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Man Utd Manchester United Man Utd Manchester United Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Premier League All competitions All competitions All competitions Following their 2-1 win at Selhurst Park in November, Manchester United are looking to complete their first league double over Crystal Palace since 2017-18. Crystal Palace have won four of their last six away league games against Manchester United (L2), having won just two of their first 22 visits to Old Trafford (D3 L17). Having won their last two visits, Crystal Palace are looking to become just the second London side to win three consecutive away league games against Manchester United after Chelsea between 1967-68 and 1969-70. Manchester United have picked up 27 points in their last 12 home Premier League matches (W8 D3 L1) – 16 more then they managed in their previous 13 games at Old Trafford (11 – W3 D2 L8). Crystal Palace have won two of their last three Premier League games (L1), picking up twice as many points in these games (6) as they did in their previous nine games combined (3 – D3 L6). Manchester United are the only team who haven’t lost in the Premier League since Boxing Day (W6 D4), while no side have won more points than the Red Devils (22) in this period. 12 of Crystal Palace’s last 14 away Premier League wins have come against sides starting the day in the bottom half of the league, with their six away wins this season against teams who were, on average, 17th in the league on the day of the game. Palace have two wins in their last 26 on the road against sides starting the day in the top-six (D8 L16). Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has won all four of his home league games in charge (one in 2021, three in 2026) – only Frank O’Farrell has won his first five home games in charge of the Red Devils, doing so in 1971 (won first six). Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson has three clean sheets in four games against former club Manchester United (75%), the best ratio of any goalkeeper in Premier League history against the Red Devils. The only visiting goalkeeper with a clean sheet in his first two starts at Old Trafford is Fraser Forster (2014-15 and 2015-16 with Southampton). Benjamin Sesko has netted five goals in six league games for Manchester United since the departure of Ruben Amorim, averaging a goal every 37 minutes in this run. Heading into MD28, no player has more non-penalty goals in the Premier League in 2026 than the Slovenian (5). Goal! Manchester United 2, Crystal Palace 1. Benjamin Sesko (Manchester United) header from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Bruno Fernandes with a cross. Attempt missed. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Casemiro. Attempt saved. Ismaïla Sarr (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner by Senne Lammens (Manchester United). Assisted by Chris Richards. Foul by Harry Maguire (Manchester United). Evann Guessand (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Substitution, Crystal Palace. Evann Guessand replaces Brennan Johnson. Substitution, Crystal Palace. Chadi Riad replaces Jørgen Strand Larsen because of an injury. Goal! Manchester United 1, Crystal Palace 1. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner. Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace) is shown the red card. VAR Decision: Penalty Manchester United. Penalty Manchester United. Matheus Cunha draws a foul in the penalty area. Penalty conceded by Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace) after a foul in the penalty area. Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Tyrick Mitchell. Attempt missed. Jørgen Strand Larsen (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Tyrick Mitchell. Attempt saved. Benjamin Sesko (Manchester United) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner by Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace). Assisted by Kobbie Mainoo with a cross. Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card. Attempt missed. Casemiro (Manchester United) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Diogo Dalot with a cross following a corner. Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Jaydee Canvot. Attempt blocked. Benjamin Sesko (Manchester United) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Second Half begins Manchester United 0, Crystal Palace 1. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
