For the second game in a row the Eagles hit the back of the net early but were unable to build on that early success as Saints battled back to secure their first win in five attempts.
DATE
11th May 2021
RESULT
Southampton 3-1 Crystal Palace
VENUE
St Mary’s Stadium, Britannia Road, Southampton SO14 5FP
CROWD
Behind closed doors
OFFICIALS
Referee: Andy Madley. Assistants: Eddie Smart, Mark Scholes. Fourth official: John Brooks. VAR: Simon Hooper. Assistant VAR: Derek Eaton
DISCIPLINE
BOOKINGS – Jan Bednarek (44), Jordan Ayew (46), Jannik Vestergaard (54), Cheikhou Kouyate (77), Wilfried Zaha (90)
RED CARD – none
GOALS
Christian Benteke (2), Danny Ings (19, 75), Che Adams (48)
TEB MAN OF THE MATCH
Christian Benteke
TEB VERDICT
A great start to the game was never followed up by the Eagles as it gradually deteriorated as the minutes ticked by. The writing was probably on the wall when Milivojevic uncharacteristically missed from the spot just before the break and the second half was the Danny Ings show. Palace were not out of it until the third went in but this defeat was down to the conceding of sloppy goals. One thing Roy Hodgson has always prided himself with his teams of being hard to break down and beat but when you no longer have that, what do you have? Three games to go ahead of an interesting summer.
VIDEO ASSISTANT REFEREE
The penalty award was reviewed as was the save by the goalkeeper which took longer than it should have as there was a question mark on whether he left his line too quickly.
PLAYER RATINGS
31 VICENTE GUAITA (6) – Did not look his usual composed self but could not be faulted for any of the goals
2 JOEL WARD (6) – Battled throughout and probably the stand out defender
6 SCOTT DANN (5) – He has been such a great servant to the club but there is a real lack of organisation when Cahill does not play
8 CHEIKHOU KOUYATE (BOOKED! – 5) – If we are being harsh he was at fault for the equaliser allowing to be turned by Ings but it was not one of his better performances
27 TYRICK MITCHELL (6) – Difficult night for defenders and while the left back his still learning his trade in some respects, he did what he could
44 JAIRO RIEDEWALD (6) – Found it difficult to stamp his authority on the game but did find himself in the penalty area but could not get onto the end of the pass. Made the most tackles in the game
4 LUKA MILIVOJEVIC (CAPTAIN – 5) – A clash of shins, missed penalty, and losing the midfield battle all contributed to his early departure from the game. Replaced by 15 JEFFREY SCHLUPP (6) on 65 minutes to try and inject some pace into the midfield which was visible.
9 JORDAN AYEW (BOOKED – 6) – A struggle for him throughout his time on the pitch and ended up being replaced by 23 MICHY BATSHUAYI (6) on 72 minutes who offered little
25 EBERECHI EZE (6) – Failed to get as involved in the game as he did at Bramall Lane at the weekend but did show some glimpses.
11 WILFRIED ZAHA (BOOKED! – 6) – Won the penalty and offered more in this one than at the weekend but still ended up on the losing side
20 CHRISTIAN BENTEKE (GOAL! TEB MAN OF THE MATCH! – 9) – Scored his 8th goal of the season and created a number of chances in another very good performance. Replaced by 14 JEAN-PHILIPPE MATETA (6) on 78 minutes who did not get an opportunity in front of goal.
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
1 Jack Butland, 3 Patrick van Aanholt, 10 Andros Townsend, 14 Jean-Philippe Mateta, 15 Jeffrey Schlupp, 22 James McCarthy, 23 Michy Batshuayi, 24 Gary Cahill, 34 Martin Kelly
OPPOSITION LINE-UP
Forster, Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Stephens, Minamino, Ward-Prowse, Armstrong, Redmond, Adams, Ings
SUBSTITUTES – McCarthy, Djenepo, Obafemi (replaced Ings on 76 mins), Salisu (replaced Bednarek on 46 mins), Tella, Diallo, Walcott, N’Lundulu, Ferry
POST GAME QUOTES
ROY HODGSON – “It’s disappointing. I thought it hinges on those two minutes before and after half time. Had we taken the penalty things could have been different. After we went behind I thought we played okay, we had a few chances and looked as though we had the threat and we decided to throw caution to the wind and of course on the counter attack we concede the third goal. Benteke played well again tonight, he was unlucky not to get a second goal. He must be pleased with his night’s work. We aren’t satisfied with the performance but we can’t be accused of not giving it our best shot. Football is a constant succession of mountains to climb, we won’t let the club or fans down, we’ll try our best. We want to win the last three games and we’ll have to play at least as well as we did on Saturday.”
RALPH HASSENHUTTL – “It is the worst thing that should happen, they always score very early, it didn’t kill our game plan because we knew we would have a lot of possession and try to create chances. We could have scored even more. We tried to move them around and they had big problems with our attacking stuff. We needed Fraser Forster before half-time because the penalty save was important, then the start for a very lively second half, creating some very good chances.”
MATCH STATISTICS
The Who Scored man of the match was Christian Benteke (8.9) who also had the most shots (5). The most tackles were by Jairo Riedewald (4) while Christian Benteke (4) had the most dribbles.
- Team rating: 6.90 – 6.47
- Total shots: 13 – 11
- Shots on target: 6 – 4
- Possession: 63.5% – 36.5%
- Pass success: 87% – 76%
- Passes: 527 – 298
- Dribbles: 3 – 9
- Aerials won: 9 – 23
- Tackles: 13 – 17
- Fouls: 20 – 13
- Corners: 12 – 8
- Saves: 3 – 3
- Dispossessed: 12 – 4
POSITION IN THE TABLE
At the final whistle Palace were 13th in the Premier League with 41 points from 35 games played, 4 points behind Wolves in 12th and 1 point ahead of Southampton.
UPCOMING FIXTURES
16/05/2021 Aston Villa (h) – Premier League (12pm)
19/05/2021 Arsenal (h) – Premier League (7pm)
23/05/2021 Liverpool (a) – Premier League (4pm)
