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.
