Sesko on target as Man Utd come back to beat 10-man Crystal Palace and go third

[p]The only unbeaten Premier League record in 2026 went on the line at Old Trafford, and it was under huge threat inside five minutes when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/crystal-palace/AovF1Mia/"]Palace[/a] took a surprise lead.[/p][p][b]There was nothing textbook about how the opener came about, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/johnson-brennan/6XhWIWPP/"]Brennan Johnson[/a]’s deep corner saw [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lacroix-maxence/j5bGWFU7/"]Maxence Lacroix[/a] shake off his marker and find the far corner with an inch-perfect header.[/b][/p][embed guid="02ce5058-fe62-4ccd-8f1e-a9270777a948" url="https://x.com/premierleague/status/2028109854414344655" social-type="twitter" /][p]That was the first time [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-united/ppjDR086/"]United[/a] had gone behind at Old Trafford in the league since mid-December, and knowing the hosts were likely to come roaring back at some point, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sarr-ismaila/ll2uTDkB/"]Ismaila Sarr[/a] came close to doubling the Eagles’ advantage when he was denied by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lammens-senne/UFssg7X4/"]Senne Lammens[/a] after being teed up by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/munoz-daniel/4vZVW6Ur/"]Daniel Munoz[/a]. [/p][p]For an Oliver Glasner-led Palace, this felt somewhat like an Old Trafford audition, given his heavy links to the United job, which becomes available in the summer.[/p][p]The visitors’ first-half display certainly did him no harm in that sense, but United looked like they were returning to their early-season struggles, with countless poor decisions around the area costing them dearly.[/p][image alt="Match stats" id="55d47d51-5873-43c3-a260-d5dc85eeb3f2" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="d1b7130f-92ba-4872-904e-b0745c666ede" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]It was perhaps little surprise then that their first big chances came from set-plays, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandes-bruno/GYvAMDm2/"]Bruno Fernandes[/a] first forced [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/henderson-dean/OpFOJojt/"]Dean Henderson[/a] into a strong save from a free-kick, before his teasing delivery fell perfectly on the head of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/casemiro/Ukeq3c0b/"]Casemiro[/a], whose glancing header flashed just wide of the post. [/p][p]United were keen to start the second half quicker and almost did so in perfect fashion when the ball fell kindly for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sesko-benjamin/QDozP4IN/"]Benjamin Sesko[/a], whose wicked effort was heroically blocked by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/canvot-jaydee/fPUrL2AL/"]Jaydee Canvot[/a].[/p][embed guid="b632b3a6-b2c8-4872-b3f5-478371a4d125" url="https://x.com/ManUtd/status/2028128467548610659" social-type="twitter" /][p]The game turned hugely on its head shortly before the hour mark when Lacroix went from hero to zero when he dragged [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/matheus-cunha/bq5QzRdb/"]Matheus Cunha[/a] back inside the area, and a penalty was awarded.[/p][p][b]His misery was compounded by a swift VAR check confirming that he’d actually denied a clear goalscoring opportunity, and after he was sent off, his mood worsened when Fernandes dispatched the resulting penalty. [/b][/p][p]The comeback was soon complete for United, and no prizes for guessing where their second goal came from.[/p][embed guid="f1e9a6d2-cddb-4794-bc13-4038593898f5" url="https://x.com/ManUtd/status/2028130542357488037" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]Fernandes was the architect, bending in a sensational ball for Sesko, who burst between two Palace defenders and headed home his fourth goal in his last five appearances.[/b][/p][p]The closing stages could’ve been a lot more comfortable for United had Dean Henderson not impressively denied both Casemiro and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/traore-amad/I5Rhq1WL/"]Amad Diallo[/a], but with a numerical advantage, they had no issues seeing out a victory, which moved them up to the heady heights of third.[/p][p]Palace’s focus now switches to a London derby with Spurs in midweek.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandes-bruno/GYvAMDm2/"]Bruno Fernandes[/a] (Man Utd)[/b][/p][image alt="Momentum" id="ba6d4958-73e9-4c27-ab39-46937e8466bf" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="c4a434c0-1266-4460-bebb-33ca28a3cb3f" original-width="1920" original-height="1080" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/crystal-palace-AovF1Mia/manchester-utd-ppjDR086/summary/stats/?mid=vqBFW9Pj"]Catch up on the match stats with Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]