We are not too sure if anyone cares what we learnt from watching our beloved Palace hand out a thrashing to Leicester, but here we go …
1. Palace’s best ever Premier League result also happened to be their most complete Premier League performance. Days like Saturday don’t happen to us very often, and it was remarkable to watch eleven players finally show what we’ve known they are capable of. Let’s not kid ourselves, the Eagles have been threatening to put another team to the sword all season, and Leicester were the unfortunate victims of some outstanding interplay, blistering pace and clinical finishing. For all the gut-wrenching torment we’ve been subjected to this season, it was all swept up and forgotten amidst a disbelieving sense of euphoria on Saturday.
2. Moments change matches. Joel Ward has been the object of a lot of criticism since his return to the side, but if he hadn’t had the foresight to retreat back towards goal to clear Jamie Vardy’s effort off the line, the game could have followed a very different trajectory. It was reminiscent of his last-minute clearance to deny Fernando Forestieri against Watford at Wembley in 2013, and served as a stoic reminder that Ward tends to step up when the majority of the fanbase have written him off.
3. Roy Hodgson has breathed life into players whose days at Palace had previously looked numbered. The likes of Patrick Van Aanholt, James McArthur and even Wayne Hennessey have experienced mini renaissances under the 70-year-old, with the Dutchman in particular coming to embody the team spirit that has been rediscovered in 2018. Palace have undoubtedly been reliant upon certain individuals this season, but make no mistake, it’s ended up being a real team effort.
4. There were times that Wilfried Zaha, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Andros Townsend looked unplayable. The same trio ran riot at the King Power Stadium back in December, and the Foxes’ defenders simply had no answer to some of the best attacking play we’ve been treated to at Selhurst Park in recent years. Zaha has already etched his name in Palace history, but Loftus-Cheek has proved to be one of the Eagles’ shrewdest ever loan signings, and it will be a massive coup if we can permanently prise him away from Chelsea in the summer.
5. For most managers, the prospect of taking over a fractured team without a win, a goal or a hope would have been too daunting to take on – but thankfully not for Roy Hodgson. The former England manager has conducted himself with class throughout, despite being faced with a never-ending injury list, a disappointing January transfer window and a series of late setbacks in games. Palace have staged some great escapes in recent years, but this – assuming nothing disastrous happens – will be up there with the best of them. Yesterday was for Hodgson as much as it was the fans, and it was fitting to see the two show their mutual admiration for one another both in the build up to and at the final whistle.
