Manchester United had to deal with a rare incident in the win away at Crystal Palace.
Jean-Philippe Mateta took his penalty twice against Manchester United in Palace’s 2-1 defeat to the Red Devils.
A penalty was awarded to Palace after a foul by Leny Yoro, and Palace’s in-form striker Mateta stepped up to score his seventh Premier League goal of the season.
Mateta was then ordered to retake the penalty after being seen to ‘double touch’ the ball.
He went on to score it again, but only thanks to a recent rule change.
Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images What did you think of Leny Yoro’s challenge for the Crystal Palace penalty?🤔 
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images Mark Clattenburg explains Mateta ruling
Speaking to Beyond The Back Four, former referee Mark Clattenburg delved into the incident and explained how Mateta’s penalty made life difficult for Senne Lammens.
Clattenburg said: “When he takes the penalty, he actually it looks like his foot is shaped to go where the goalkeeper is actually diving, but it seems to take another touch of his second foot, which diverted into the other side of the goal, and that double touch certainly created an issue for the goalkeeper.
“They were correct to highlight this to the referee and to make him retake.”
Before this season, instead of a re-take, an indirect free-kick would have been awarded – making it a lot more difficult for Palace to score.
Clattenburg said: “I think this is a great law change, because when a player accidentally does it, it’s not a deliberate action.
“In the previous seasons, this would have been an indirect free kick, and Crystal Palace wouldn’t have had a second chance.”
Who was Manchester United’s MAN OF THE MATCH vs Crystal Palace?🤔🔥 Former Liverpool player argues against Palace decision
Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann set rivalry aside to argue that Manchester United were at the wrong end of the decision.
Posting on X, Hamann wrote: “There‘s a few rules in football these days which baffle me, especially when it comes to handball but to change the rule and let a player retake a penalty when hitting it twice as Mateta just did is beyond me.”
Thankfully for United, this was not a decision we ended up having to dwell on too much due to the inspired second half comeback.
Goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount enabled United to clinch an important three points, and first away win over Palace since 2020.