Crystal Palace 1-1 Manchester United: Michael Olise scores dramatic equaliser, Casemiro out of Arsenal clash

Michael Olise scored a stunning late equaliser to earn Crystal Palace a 1-1 draw against Manchester United, who missed the chance to go second in the Premier League.

Man Utd thought they had done enough through Bruno Fernandes’ first-half goal to earn all three points, but were dealt a blow through Olise’s spectacular free-kick in added time.

To make matters worse for Erik Ten Hag’s side, they will be without Casemiro for Sunday’s blockbuster clash with Arsenal after the Brazilian received his fifth yellow card of the season.

In a scrappy first half, the first threatening attempt at goal came from Odsonne Edouard, who forced a world class save out of David De Gea.

Edouard received the ball on the edge of the box and tried to lift the ball over the Spaniard’s head and into the top left corner, but De Gea – at full stretch – used his fingertips to guide the ball onto the bar and behind for a corner.

The save proved to be crucial as Man Utd went straight down the other end to open the scoring through Fernandes.

Christian Eriksen found himself with space on the left flank as Palace switched off, and Marcus Rashford found the Dane who quickly pulled back a cross back for Fernandes who had acres of space in the penalty box, and made no mistake with the finish as he curled a fierce effort beyond Vicente Guaita.

Man Utd had a penalty shout in the second half when substitute Scott McTominay was brought down by Chris Richards, who was making his full Premier League debut.

A quick VAR check showed the 22-year-old won the ball and referee Rob Jones signalled to play on to deny United the chance to stretch their lead from the spot.

De Gea was called into action again and reacted rapidly to deny a strong Marc Guehi header from close range.

Casimiro, who started the game on four yellow cards, was booked in the second half for a seemingly pointless foul on Zaha, which ruled him out of Sunday’s game against Arsenal.

With the clock ticking down and Man Utd edging closer to the all-important three points that would lift them above Man City in the table, Olise’s free-kick from 25 yards out, in added time, crashed onto the bar before bouncing over the line and into the roof of the net.

Palace nearly won the game at the death when Zaha was put through on goal, but an excellent recovery from Aaron Wan-Bissaka denied the former Man Utd player.

Despite dropping two points in added time, Man Utd still progress moving above Newcastle United in the table and into third, level on points with Man City.

They are now eight points behind the Gunners, who they face on Sunday at Emirates Stadium.

TALKING POINT – MAN UTD MISS CHANCE TO GO SECOND

Following that 4-0 defeat at Brentford earlier in the season, no one would have thought Man Utd would have the chance to go above Man City at the halfway stage. They were two minutes away from doing so before Olise buried the free-kick in additional time.

A big turning point in the game was Casimiro’s yellow card, and not because he’ll be out of the huge match against Arsenal at the weekend. With ten minutes to go, he put in an awful challenge on Zaha – which could have been a red – and from there Man Utd’s tempo dropped.

They were flatter, and not only did Palace equalise, but they could also have gone on to win it if it wasn’t for Wan-Bissaka’s heroics right at the end.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – DAVID DE GEA (MAN UTD)

Talking of heroics, De Gea pulled off one of the saves of the season in the first half when game was goalless. De Gea has taken his fair share of criticism as a Man Utd player in recent years, but he’s the reason they’re walking away with anything at all.

He made the world class save to deny Edouard in the first half, but he reacted sharply to get down and palm away Guehi’s powerful header with a strong palm away.

There wasn’t a lot he could have done about the equaliser, either. It was placed to perfection by Olise, and sometimes you just have to hold your hands up.

MATCH RATINGS

CRYSTAL PALACE: Guaita 6, Clyne 7, Richards 7, Guehi 8, Mitchell 7, Doucoure 7, Hughes 7, Olise 8, Mateta 6, Zaha 7, Edouard 6

Subs: Milivojevic N/A, Ayew 6, Eze 6, Schlupp 6

MAN UTD: De Gea 8, Wan-Bissaka 8, Varane 7, Martinez 8, Shaw 7, Casemiro 8, Eriksen 8, Antony 6, Fernandes 8, Rashford 6, Weghorst 6

Subs: Fred N/A, McTominay 6, Garnacho 6

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

41’ – WHAT A SAVE DAVID DE GEA! It’s fingertip stuff from De Gea to deny Edouard from looping the ball over his head from the edge of the box! The Spaniard is at full strength to tip the ball onto the bar and behind for a corner. Sensational from the Man Utd goalkeeper.

43’ – GOAL! CRYSTAL PALACE 0-1 MAN UTD (FERNANDES): Crystal Palace switch off as Eriksen finds himself with space down the left, Rashford finds him and the Dane pulls a cross back for Fernandes who has acres in the penalty box, and makes no mistake with the finish as he curls a fierce effort beyond Guaita.

72’ – MAN UTD PENALTY SHOUT! McTominay is brought down by Richards, but it looks like he got a touch. The referee plays on after a quick VAR check.

76’ – GUEHI HEADER DENIED BY DE GEA! Guehi meets a corner with his head and powers the ball towards the Man Utd goal, but De Gea is there to deny it with a solid save! He might be the difference tonight.

80’ – CASIMIRO BOOKED! That’s it, he’ll miss the Arsenal game on Sunday. He was about to come off as well! It’s a horrible, miss-timed, and pointless challenge.

90’+1 – GOAL! CRYSTAL PALACE 1-1 MAN UTD (OLISE) – Olise bends a free-kick from 25 yards off the bar and into the net and surely earns Palace a point!

90’+4 – WAN-BISSAKA PRODUCES AN INCH-PERFECT CHALLENGE TO DENY ZAHA! Zaha is through on goal and is surely about to put Palace ahead, but Wan-Bissaka follows him the whole way and produces a superb tackle to win the ball back.

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