Benjamin Sesko celebrated his first start under Michael Carrick with the winner as Manchester United came from behind to beat 10-man Crystal Palace 2-1, moving up to third for the first time since May 2023. Sesko’s header from Bruno Fernandes’ cross was the Slovenian’s fourth goal in five games.
The match turned on the dismissal of Palace defender Maxence Lacroix 10 minutes into the second half. Lacroix was judged to have pulled Matheus Cunha as he entered the box; referee Chris Kavanagh pointed to the spot after an initial hesitation, and a VAR review upgraded the decision to a red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. Fernandes converted the penalty to level the scores.
Palace manager Oliver Glasner called the red card “very harsh” and suggested the Old Trafford setting may have influenced the call, saying the contact began outside the box and arguing Palace were disadvantaged by United’s fresh legs after having played three days earlier. “We could’ve defended better because we had two against him. He attacked the ball, we didn’t,” Glasner added, while insisting the team’s performance had been “absolutely okay.”
Sky Sports’ Michael Dawson defended the officials’ decision, describing the incident as a foul and saying Lacroix’s continued contact as Cunha ran inside justified both the penalty and the red card as a denial of a goalscoring opportunity.
Palace had taken a shock fourth-minute lead when Lacroix nodded home, and they dominated much of the opening period. United had not troubled goalkeeper Dean Henderson before the penalty, but after going down to 10 men the visitors were unable to hold out. With the numerical advantage, United completed their turnaround eight minutes after the equaliser when Sesko met Fernandes’ delivery.
The result extended United’s unbeaten Premier League run to 11 matches and lifted them above Aston Villa into third. Crystal Palace dropped to 15th, with Brighton moving above them after defeating Nottingham Forest.
Carrick described the win as “a big step”, praising his side’s response to going a goal down at half-time and highlighting Sesko’s recent goalscoring form. “Ben is here to score goals and he has done enough of that lately… it was a fantastic header,” Carrick said.