MATCH FACTS
- Date – 30th December 2018
- Venue – Selhurst Park
- Attendance – 25,781
- Referee – Craig Pawson
- Cards – Alonso
- Goals – Kante (51)
- STAR EAGLE – Aaron Wan-Bissaka (6.9)
TEB VERDICT
The Eagles ended the year with a narrow defeat in this London derby. Other than for a very good defensive performance, there was very little to show elsewhere on the pitch with no threat up front until the last ten minutes or so. It was a frustrating showing with the visitors not on their game but they did more than enough to see off Palace. A disappointing way to see out the year but the current league position combined with the expectation of a better second half to the season than the first, there is a lot to look forward to but it is essential that Palace are starting with a striker sooner rather than later in an effort to utilise the threat out wide.
PLAYER RATINGS (courtesy of Who Scored)
31 VICENTE GUAITA (6.6) – A couple of good saves proves why he continues to start even with Wayne Hennessey returning to the bench.
29 AARON WAN-BISSAKA (6.9) – Arguably as important to this Palace side as Zaha is, the young defender continues to show a talent beyond his years. Never daunted by the opposition he lines up against which is a valuable trait.
5 JAMES TOMKINS (6.8) – Hardly put a foot wrong all game and will feel very aggrieved to be on the losing side, a major part of a defensive unit that is hard to break down.
12 MAMADOU SAKHO (6.7) – Slowly but surely, the Frenchman is cutting out the heart in the mouth moments and proved a real barrier in the backline alongside Tomkins. Made one fantastic challenge to win the ball from Hazard.
3 PATRICK VAN AANHOLT (6.2) – Had problems all afternoon and really not showing us the player we all know he is. Often struggled without a real outlet in front of him and perhaps questionable positioning for the winning goal.
8 CHEIKHOU KOUYATE (6.3) – Solid enough in the middle but like Luka alongside him, was chasing shadows for much of the game. Replaced by 7 MAX MEYER (6.1) on 78 minutes who provided a little more urgency and quality on the ball after being deservedly benched for his poor game against Cardiff.
4 LUKA MILIVOJEVIC (6.6) – Found it difficult in the middle of the park as did his team-mates, struggled to have any influence on the game.
18 JAMES MCARTHUR (6.5) – Good game from the Scotsman who was involved throughout, one of the few that was successful in winning the ball back from the opposition. Drove forward at every opportunity.
15 JEFFREY SCHLUPP (6.4) – Struggled to get going and was guilty of several miss-placed passes when any sustained possession for the hosts was few and far between. Replaced by 21 CONNOR WICKHAM (6.2) on 69 minutes who provided an immediate aerial threat, blased one chance over when a little composure would have seen it nestle in the back of the net. Hoping to see him start at Wolves.
10 ANDROS TOWNSEND (6.6) – Had plenty of energy as ever but lacked that final ball. Found it difficult to get the ball to Zaha. Kept on working hard for the cause but it proved a thankless task.
11 WILFRIED ZAHA (6.3) – A real off day for winger ploughing a lonely furrow up front which is clearly not his strength as we know only too well. In fact, he looked completely disinterested in the role and was far more comfortable when switched out wide on the introduction of Wickham. The sooner Palace start with a target man, the sooner we will return to seeing the best of Zaha but he must make more an effort for the cause than he did today.
Unused substitutes – 13 Wayne Hennessey, 2 Joel Ward, 6 Scott Dann, 42 Jason Puncheon, 14 Jordan Ayew
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAID
ROY HODGSON: “I thought we worked as hard as we could have. We kept them in front of us and they had the ball, but they were creating goal chances. When they scored we had two options; either fly at it and risk conceding another three or four, or keep it tight and try and win an undeserved point in the last fifteen minutes.”
MAURIZIO SARRI: “It was a difficult match. I am happy with the team because we dominated for 85 minutes, although we didn’t kill the match, so we had to fight again for the last five minutes.”
MATCH STATISTICS
The Who Scored man of the match was N’Golo Kante (8.0) who also had the most shots along with Ross Barkley and Willian (3). The most tackles were made by Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Antonio Rudiger and Jorginho (3) while Eden Hazard, Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend (2) had the most dribbles.
- Team rating: 6.47 – 6.93
- Total shots: 4 – 12
- Shots on target: 0 – 4
- Possession: 34.3% – 65.7%
- Pass success: 78% – 88%
- Dribbles: 7 – 7
- Aerials won: 13 – 13
- Tackles: 14 – 12
- Corners: 3 – 4
- Dispossessed: 7 – 10
POSITION IN THE TABLE
Palace end the year 14th in the Premier League with 19 points from 20 games, six points behind Brighton & Hove Albion in 13th above and just a point ahead of Newcastle United and Cardiff City in 15th and 16th respectively.
NEXT THREE FIXTURES
- 02/01/2019 Wolverhampton Wanderers (a)
- 05/01/2019 Grimsby Town (h)
- 12/01/2019 Watford (h)
