A frustrated Erik ten Hag hit out at how officials have been treating Manchester United following their dramatic 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace.
Bruno Fernandes' penalty put the Red Devils 1-0 up after only seven minutes, and Marcus Rashford made it two just after the hour mark. It seemed smooth sailing for the three minutes between Rashford's 11th goal in 13 games and Casemiro's straight red card, a decision which left Ten Hag fuming and his side vulnerable.
Palace winger Jeffrey Schlupp, who'd sparked the mass brawl which led to Casemiro's dismissal after a clash with United star Antony, took advantage with what was ultimately rendered a consolation goal. Thanks to the efforts of the Red Devils' resolute defence, led by the monstrous Lisandro Martinez, United hung on and made it 13 home wins on the spin to get back to winning ways in the Premier League.
But Ten Hag wasn't totally pleased, bringing up events from the reverse fixture in January and a recent FA Cup clash with a rough Reading side which led to Christian Eriksen being ruled out for three months. "Casemiro crossed the line; you saw that," the Dutchman admitted post-match.
"However, I'm unhappy with the inconsistent refereeing; not only this game but also [away to] Palace. They elbowed Martinez and last week with Eriksen. A lot of other players crossed the line, including some Crystal Palace players. VAR didn't intervene with them."
Ten Hag may well have a point, as footage has emerged of Jordan Ayew striking Fred's face in the brawl. Still, the fired-up Red Devils boss was delighted with his side's resilience to hang onto all three points, adding: "This is a good team, they stick together. They're there for each other. You see that in the outcome. [Rashford's goal] was a perfect team goal for me, ended with the cross from Luke Shaw."
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Defender Shaw gave his take on the fiery affair by telling MUTV: "[We're] really happy. A massive three points, I think, especially under the circumstances, in the last 20 minutes, it was really tough but we showed character, we showed resilience, to win this game in the end.
"I think we feed off that energy from the fans. They've been amazing and today, tough times, especially with 10 men, we feed off that. We fight to the end, we didn't want to lose these points, and I think it showed."
There isn't long for United to enjoy the hard-earned victory, as they're back in action on Wednesday with the visit of Leeds United. Casemiro will be banned for the match, as well as the reverse fixture which comes only four days later and then a home clash with Leicester City on Sunday, February 19.
