Palace Leads Man Utd 1-0 After Penalty Retake

Crystal Palace took a 1-0 lead against Manchester United at halftime in their Premier League match at Selhurst Park on Sunday, thanks to a penalty scored by striker Jean-Philippe Mateta following a controversial retake prompted by video assistant referee intervention.

The incident occurred in the 36th minute when Mateta was fouled in the penalty area by Manchester United defender Leny Yoro, leading referee Rob Jones to award the spot kick. Mateta, the 28-year-old Frenchman, stepped up and struck the ball with his right foot into the bottom left corner, wrong-footing goalkeeper Senne Lammens and appearing to give Palace the lead. However, VAR reviewed the play and determined that Mateta had unintentionally touched the ball twice, as it brushed his left foot after the initial contact, causing it to bobble into the net.

Under a rule update introduced by the International Football Association Board on July 1, officials allowed Mateta to retake the penalty because the double touch was deemed accidental and the initial effort had succeeded. Mateta calmly converted the second attempt, this time placing the ball low into the opposite corner and again beating Lammers, before celebrating...