Manchester United and Crystal Palace played out to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday in south London. Bruno Fernandes scored a goal for the visitors just before halftime, but Michael Olise struck a glorious free kick goal late in the game to share the points. The draw puts an end to United’s nine-game win streak in all competitions.
The Red Devils entered the match as one of the hottest teams in Europe. United last lost a game on Nov. 6, 73 days ago. While some have pointed out that the winning streak has been filled with lower opposition, they did just beat crosstown rivals Manchester City at the weekend.
Palace have essentially experienced the opposite end of the spectrum in recent weeks. The Eagles had just one win in five total games since the World Cup break. They had even failed to score in four out of their last five league matches.
Game opened up just before halftime
The opening 30 minutes or so of Wednesday’s game was fairly pedestrian. Both sides defended well and did not allow much creativity. However, the match opened up about five minutes before the halftime break.
United goalkeeper David de Gea made a brilliant save to keep a shot from Odsonne Edouard in the 40th minute. The Spaniard just barely got fingertips on the ball, which then ricocheted off of the bar and out for a corner. United would end up scoring the opener just four minutes later.
Christian Eriksen played a neat give-and-go with Marcus Rashford, then found Fernandes near the top of the box. The Portugal international wouldn’t miss from there. Fernandes struck a perfectly placed shot passed Vicente Guaita and into the net.
Olise’s wonder saves Palace a point against United
Although it seemed as if the Red Devils looked certain to win their 10th consecutive match, Olise had other plans. The 21-year-old winger finally beat de Gea with a free kick goal from distance in added time. Olise curled in the shot off of the bar and into the goal. It was placed to perfection, away from any goalkeeper’s ability.
USMNT fans will undoubtedly be happy with Chris Richards’s performance for Palace. The 22-year-old center back performed well in his full Premier League debut. He even went one-on-one with Antony and Rashford on separate occasions and came out on top.
United next travel to Premier League leaders Arsenal in what should be an excellent game. Erik ten Hag’s men will have to go to north London without star midfielder Casemiro. The Brazilian is now suspended after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season on Wednesday. It appeared as if the manager was about to substitute the midfielder leading up to the foul.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Focus Images
