MANCHESTER, England (AP) — After reigniting hopes of a Premier League title challenge, Manchester United was left counting the cost of Casemiro’s red card in the 2-1 win against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Brazil international was sent off in the second half for grabbing Palace midfielder Will Hughes by the neck and will now serve a three-match ban for violent conduct.
United is already without Christian Eriksen for the majority of the rest of the season because of an ankle injury and must now cope with the loss of another influential midfielder.
Casemiro was sent off in the 70th minute, shortly after Marcus Rashford had put Erik ten Hag’s team 2-0 up.
Following a tussle between both sets of players on the sideline, VAR asked referee Andre Marriner to review the footage of Casemiro and the decision was a straight red.
His absence was immediately felt as Palace set up a tense finish, with Jeffrey Schlupp scoring six minutes after Casemiro's dismissal.
Bruno Fernandes had opened the scoring early on from the penalty spot and United looked set to cruise to victory when Rashford added a second.
But in front an increasingly nervous Old Trafford crowd, Palace dominated once the home team was reduced to 10 men.
United held on for the win to move within eight points of leader Arsenal, which lost 1-0 at Everton in the earlier kick off.
Brentford 3, Southampton 0
In London, Brentford moved into the English Premier League top six after dispatching Southampton 3-0 on Saturday.
Goals by Ben Mee, Bryan Mbeumo and Mathias Jensen extended Brentford’s unbeaten run to nine in the league stretching back to October.
Their fluid front four of Josh Dasilva, Ivan Toney, Yoane Wissa and Mbeumo simply tormented the Southampton defense.
Southampton was game for 40 minutes then capitulated.
The goal the hosts were threatening arrived when Mbeumo spun out of trouble on the left wing and swung in a cross which Mee met with a powerful header.
Mee also banged heads with defender Mohammed Salisu and both needed prolonged treatment. When play restarted, the Bees doubled their lead with another clinical, sweeping attack.
Using the outside of his left boot like a pitching wedge, Dasilva spread the ball out wide to Wissa, who cut inside and provided a low cross for Mbeumo to tap in.
As disgruntled Saints fans took out their frustration on manager Nathan Jones, Brentford piled on the misery with 10 minutes to go when Rico Henry’s cross was headed in by Jensen to wrap up another impressive win.
One of Jones' substitutions was met with a chorus of “You don’t know what you're doing." After the third goal, the mood worsened with “You're getting sacked in the morning” and “Nathan Jones, get out of our club” ringing out from one angry corner of the ground.
Southampton has lost eight of its last nine matches.
Wolverhampton 3, Liverpool 0
In Wolverhampton, Liverpool's troubles continued after losing to the Wolves 3-0 in the English Premier League on Saturday.
A season after being in the hunt for an unprecedented quadruple of trophies, Liverpool looks in danger of finishing mid-table in the league or perhaps worse.
The team has lost seven times in the league and its hopes of salvaging the campaign by qualifying for the Champions League look increasingly unlikely.
Joel Matip’s own goal, Craig Dawson’s debut strike, and Ruben Neves’ effort sealed the win for Wolverhampton.
Wolves were plunged into the relegation zone by Everton’s upset of Arsenal hours earlier, but responded impressively by scoring three goals or more in a game for the first time in 11 months.
Liverpool was left in 10th after a third straight away loss in the league.
Defender Matip put the ball into his own net after five minutes and Dawson struck from close range in the 12th. Neves slotted in from six meters to complete the scoring in the 71st.
Brighton 1, Bournemouth 0
In Brighton, fresh from a dramatic late winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup, Kaoru Mitoma struck in the 87th minute, as the hosts defeated Bournemouth 1-0 on Saturday.
The Japan international's headed goal was his third in as many games and sent his side up to sixth place in the English Premier League.
It also means Bournemouth has lost seven of its last eight games and is winless during the streak.
Both teams threatened throughout the first half, with Bournemouth surviving an onslaught that saw Deniz Undav denied three times within a matter of seconds.
Brighton's winner came when substitute Jeremy Sarmiento sent a cross to Mitoma, who headed past Neto to seal the three points.
Brighton's impressive form has seen it win five of its last six games in all competitions.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.