January 19, (THEWILL) – Crystal Palace came from a goal down to secure a late but crucial 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Selhurst Park, on Saturday night.
United established early dominance in the match, with debutant Wout Weghorst hunting for a debut goal after Palace goalkeeper, Vicente Guaita, spilled an early cross. Luke Shaw also threatened with a cleanly struck half-volley. Meanwhile, Palace looked solid in the opening quarter of the game as well.
United’s opener came from a simple square ball from Christian Eriksen to Bruno Fernandes, in space to finish from the middle of the penalty area. The visitors remained in control after the break, taking the sting out of the game, and thought they should have had a penalty as the second half minutes ticked by when substitute Scott McTominay went tumbling as Chris Richards lunged in.
However, nothing was given in real-time, and a VAR check ruled that there was not enough of an error to warrant a penalty even though Richards did not appear to win the ball cleanly enough in the tackle. In the first minute of four extra minutes added at the end of regulation time, United’s slender lead was finally broken by Michael Olise’s freekick.
Crystal Palace will be looking to build on their late momentum when they host high-flying Newcastle United on Saturday. Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag’s side will now have to quickly move from the pain of dropping two massive points to prepare for their next game, which is a big tie against EPL leaders Arsenal on Sunday.
