Crystal Palace star Maxence Lacroix was sent off for giving away a penalty against Manchester United, but Oliver Glasner believes two decisions were incorrect.
Maxence Lacroix conceded a penalty and was sent off (Image: Molly Darlington/Copa/Getty Images)
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner was furious, pointing out the “Old Trafford bounce” after his side suffered a double whammy against Manchester United. Maxence Lacroix was shown a red card for knocking down Matheus Cunha in the penalty area, sparking United’s comeback.
Palace were leading 1-0 at Old Trafford thanks to Lacroix’s early goal. But the Frenchman went from hero to zero when he desperately grabbed Matheus Cunha’s shoulder and held on as the pair charged into the box.
Referee Chris Kavanagh awarded the penalty, but it was then sent to the VAR monitor to decide Lacroix’s fate. The referee made a quick decision and sent off the Palace centre-back.
Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty and Benjamin Sesco made it 2-1, giving United all three points. After the game, Glasner questioned two decisions that turned the game around.
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“When you’re up 1-0 and concede a penalty and you’re down by one player, that’s the deciding factor,” Glasner explained on Match of the Day. “The foul is outside the box and the foul should be given where it starts, not where it ends.
“Mateus Cunha was very smart. We tried our best to get the equalizer, but we found ourselves in good situations in the fourth or fifth inning.”
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Palace added: “We spoke to the fourth official and they needed to confirm whether it was offside, where the foul started and whether it was a red card. There are several situations to judge, but we still feel it was the wrong decision.”
“It’s not a penalty. It could be a red card for a foul outside the box, but the foul started outside the box. It could be a little bounce at Old Trafford.”
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Chris Kavanagh shows Maxence Lacroix a red card (Image: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Palace defender Chris Richards also hinted that Kavanagh was showing bias against United. “When you’re playing away at a place like Old Trafford, there’s a good chance the home team will get a call like that, but that’s the nature of the game,” Richards told Sky Sports.
“Mateus Cunha is a smart player and knows how to play. If he felt pulled in the box, he would go down, so that’s a credit to him. Of course it hurt a little to have one go down, but you can’t take anything away from today’s performance. Regardless of how many people were on the pitch, we still performed well.”
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