MATCH FACTS
- Date – 25th November 2017
- Venue – Selhurst Park
- Attendance – 23,723
- Referee – Mike Dean
- Bookings – Wimmer, Tomkins
- Goals – Shaqiri (53), Loftus-Cheek (56), Sakho (90)
- Star Eagle – Wilfried Zaha (7.5)
TEB VERDICT
It was a bold decision by Roy Hodgson to drop both Julian Speroni and Scott Dann but he was vindicated as the Eagles took just their second Premier League win of the season. It was a drop in performance compared with previous games but the side showed plenty of guts and determination to force the much needed three points courtesy of Captain Sakho in the dying seconds of the game. No better preparation for a trip to the south coast in midweek but more importantly, it closes the gap at the bottom of the table.
PLAYER RATINGS (courtesy of Who Scored)
13 WAYNE HENNESSEY (6.5) – Made an important save in the first half to keep the visitors at bay but little else to do.
2 JOEL WARD (6.4) – Struggled for the most part and looked the weak link in the back line.
5 JAMES TOMKINS (7.1) – Great showing on his return to the starting line up, formed a strong partnership with Sakho.
12 MAMADOU SAKHO (7.4) – Given the captains armband and responded with a super performance and match winning goal.
15 JEFFREY SCHLUPP (6.9) – Used his turn of pace to good effect, got caught out on one occasion but Hennessey pulled off a save to bail him out.
28 LUKA MILIVOJEVIC (6.9) – Solid in the middle once again breaking up play and turning defence into attack swiftly.
7 YOHAN CABAYE (7.0) – The Frenchman puts his heart and sole into every performance and this was no different. Just oozed class whenever he was in possession.
18 JAMES MCARTHUR (6.8) – Found it difficult out wide throughout the first half and paid the price for that at the break. Replaced by 17 CHRISTIAN BENTEKE (6.7) on 46 minutes and provided the side with a little more direction going forward and another option with his height.
8 RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK (7.2) – Scored the crucial equaliser in quick time which set Palace up to go for the win. Still found it tough in an unfamiliar wide position, needs to be played more central to get the best out of him.
11 WILFRIED ZAHA (7.5) – Came to life in the second half, more so with the introduction of Benteke who was someone for him to play off. Worrying knock in the first half but looked to run it off.
10 ANDROS TOWNSEND (7.4) – A decent game but often seemed to take one touch too many and found it hard to make that final telling pass.
Unused substitutes – 1 Julian Speroni, 3 Patrick van Aanholt, 6 Scott Dann, 24 Timothy Fosu-Mensah, 26 Bakary Sako, 42 Jason Puncheon
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAID
“If you fight to the end you’ve always got a chance and we showed fighting spirit. It was an even contest and we’ve played better. We got a bit of good fortune with the Sakho goal. We’re delighted and I can only hope these points help us to keep building on what we’re trying to do and slowly pull away from the relegation zone and give us a chance of survival.” – Roy Hodgson courtesy of BBC Sport.
“We’ve defended poorly in the last few games unfortunately and it was the same again. We had two at the far post which we should have dealt with. It’s hurting us at the moment. Performances have been okay up to a point but it’s about getting results and that’s the frustration for us.” – Mark Hughes courtesy of BBC Sport.
MATCH STATISTICS
The Who Scored man of the match was Xherdan Shaqiri (7.9) who also had the most shots (5). Making the most tackles was Luka Milivojevic (6) while Shaqiri and Eric Maxim Choupo Moting (4) had the most dribbles.
- Team rating: 6.98 – 6.72
- Total shots: 10 – 9
- Shots on target: 5 – 3
- Possession: 54% – 46%
- Pass success: 76%- 77%
- Dribbles: 10 – 13
- Aerials won: 15 – 14
- Tackles: 27 – 19
- Corners: 5 – 2
- Dispossessed: 14 – 16
POSITION IN THE TABLE
Palace remain bottom of the table but move on to eight points behind Swansea City in 19th on nine points and West Ham United in 18th on ten points. The Eagles are now three points from safety.
NEXT THREE FIXTURES
- 28/11/2017 Brighton & Hove Albion (a)
- 02/12/2017 West Bromwich Albion (a)
- 09/12/2017 Bournemouth (h)
