MANCHESTER, Feb 5: After reigniting hope of an English Premier League title challenge, Manchester United was left counting the cost of Casemiro’s red card after beating Crystal Palace 2-1 on Saturday.
The Brazil international was sent off in the second half for grabbing Palace midfielder Will Hughes by the neck and will serve a three-match ban for violent conduct.
United is already without Christian Eriksen for the majority of the rest of the season because of an ankle injury and must cope with the loss of another influential midfielder.
Casemiro was sent off in the 70th minute, shortly after Marcus Rashford put United ahead 2-0.
Following a tussle between the teams on the sideline, VAR asked referee Andre Marriner to review footage of Casemiro and the decision was a straight red.
His absence was immediately felt as Palace set up a tense finish, with Jeffrey Schlupp scoring six minutes after Casemiro’s dismissal. Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring from the penalty spot and United looked set to cruise to victory when Rashford added another.
But in front an increasingly nervous Old Trafford crowd, Palace dominated once the home team was reduced to 10 men.
United held on to move within eight points of leader Arsenal, which lost at Everton 1-0.
The celebrations from the crowd at the final whistle after seven minutes of added time demonstrated how important the fans believe the result could be as the gap to the top of the table was closed.
How to handle the loss of Casemiro, however, will be a concern for Ten Hag.
Casemiro has been outstanding for United since his summer move to England and his importance was underlined when he was suspended for the 3-2 loss to Arsenal last month.
That suspension came after he received a fifth booking of the season, which also came against Palace. He will miss consecutive league games against Leeds and Leicester.
United won at home for the 13th time in a row as Ten Hag’s influence continues to be felt in his first season.
He has already led the team to the final of the League Cup, and Arsenal’s loss provided hope of a potential challenge for a first league title since 2013.
Fernandes put United ahead in the seventh after Hughes handled in the box.
Rashford then doubled the lead in the 62nd with a close-range finish.
But what looked like being a comfortable win was thrown into doubt after Casemiro’s red.
Schlupp beat David de Gea after United failed to clear a Palace corner, and the visitors applied the pressure in the closing stages.
Mitoma strikes again
Fresh from a dramatic late winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup, Kaoru Mitoma struck in the 87th minute for Brighton to beat Bournemouth 1-0 on Saturday.
The Japan international’s headed goal was his third in as many games and sent his side up to sixth place in the English Premier League.
Both teams threatened throughout the first half, with Bournemouth surviving an onslaught that saw Deniz Undav denied three times within a matter of seconds.
Brighton’s winner came when substitute Jeremy Sarmiento sent a cross to Mitoma, who headed past Neto to seal the three points.
More misery for Scousers
Liverpool’s troubles continued after losing to Wolverhampton 3-0 in the English Premier League on Saturday.
A season after being in the hunt for an unprecedented quadruple of trophies, Liverpool looks in danger of finishing mid-table in the league or perhaps worse.
The team has lost seven times in the league and its hopes of salvaging the campaign by qualifying for the Champions League look increasingly unlikely.
Joel Matip’s own goal, Craig Dawson’s debut strike, and Ruben Neves’ effort sealed the win for Wolverhampton.
Wolves were plunged into the relegation zone by Everton’s upset of Arsenal hours earlier, but responded impressively by scoring three goals or more in a game for the first time in 11 months.
Liverpool was left in 10th after a third straight away loss in the league.
Defender Matip put the ball into his own net after five minutes and Dawson struck from close range in the 12th. Neves slotted in from six meters to complete the scoring in the 71st.
Foxes triumph
Kelechi Iheanacho scored a goal and set up two others to help Leicester beat Aston Villa 4-2 on Saturday in the English Premier League.
The Nigeria forward’s first-half pluck allowed Leicester to snap a five-game winless run in league play. It was Villa’s first loss in its past five league matches.
Iheanacho stole the ball from defender Boubacar Kamara and passed to James Maddison, who slotted home to equalize shortly after Ollie Watkins’ ninth-minute goal at Villa Park.Villa went ahead on Harry Souttar’s own goal in the 32nd then Iheanacho made it 2-2 by heading in a cross from Harvey Barnes in the 41st.
Iheanacho fed new arrival Tete, who rounded goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and put Leicester ahead in first-half stoppage time.Dennis Praet made it 4-2 in the 79th for Brendan Rodgers’ team, which hosts Tottenham next Saturday.(AP)
