'Akinwale was there one-on-one' - Eagles boss Vieira reacts to red card shown to Man Utd CB

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira has reacted to the red card shown to Manchester United centre-back Will Fish during the closing minutes of his side's 3-1 defeat to the Red Devils in a pre-season friendly on Tuesday, July 19.

With six minutes remaining, Fish, who replaced captain Harry Maguire in the 65th minute, took the walk of shame after he was dismissed for a late foul on Nigerian striker Victor Akinwale.

Another teenager eligible for Nigeria, David Ozoh headed the ball in behind the Manchester United backline, allowing Akinwale to beat Fish to the ball but the Red Devils youngster dragged him down on the edge of the area. 

Referee Alex King deemed it to be a goalscoring opportunity so pulled out a red card and Fish was out of the match.

Akinwale, still only 17, was named on the roster due to the unavailability of the likes of Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha owing to fitness issues or their Covid-19 vaccination status.

Vieira was pleased with the impact made by the academy players that were introduced in the second half, including Akinwale.

Speaking to Palace's official website post-match, Vieira said : "Victor[Akinwale] was there one-on-one and that foul didn’t allow him to take his chance.

"But they came on the field and they were really positive, really aggressive and the attitude they showed coming on in the last 15 to 20 minutes was good."

Akinwale has been with the Crystal Palace academy since the age of twelve and signed his first professional contract with the Eagles last August.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : cpfc.co.uk

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