The Eagles head into the international break with their unbeaten home record intact after finding a way to hand defeat to in-form Wolves at Selhurst Park.
DATE
6th November 2021
RESULT
Crystal Palace 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
VENUE
Selhurst Park, Holmesdale Road, London SE25 6PU
OFFICIALS
Referee: Graham Scott. Assistants: Peter Kirkup, Marc Perry. Fourth official: Gavin Ward. VAR: John Brooks. Assistant VAR: Mark Scholes
DISCIPLINE
BOOKINGS – Joao Moutinho (9), Marc Guehi (37), Michael Olise (81)
RED CARD – none
GOALS
Wilfried Zaha (61), Conor Gallagher (78)
ASSISTS
James McArthur (61)
TEB VERDICT
It was always going to be a tough game against a Wolves side that had dragged themselves back into the top half of the Premier League. However, Patrick Vieira steered his side to victory through sheer steel and determination, even if there was an element of luck involved as well with VAR coming to the rescue on two occasions. Having said that, Palace had taken the game to the visitors and once again found a way to score in the second half with another solid team performance with a couple of individuals standing out. The Vieira revolution takes another important step almost a third of the way into the campaign, with the hope of plenty more to look forward to in the coming weeks and months.
BOB’S POINT OF VIEW
Bob White was a coach at Palace under the tenure of Steve Coppell and Alan Smith and will be sharing his point of view each week in our review article.
“This one was more of a slow burner – patience, controlled possession and keeping it tight at the back was paramount as the match progressed. Wolves came to Selhurst as a team in-form with potential attacking threat, but for most of the game we effectively neutralised their offensive play at source. Our midfield closed the opposition down at every opportunity with the combination of Gallagher, McArthur and Kouyate ensuring very little space for the Wolves midfield to create goal scoring chances. Patience was finally rewarded mi-way through the second half with a neat finish by Zaha after a slide rule pass from McArthur. This was followed by a deflected finish by Gallagher ensuring no nervous minutes until the final whistle.
Overall, a fine win and another clean sheet. A mention in dispatches for McArthur but for his incessant running and qualities in possession, my man of the match goes to Gallagher. He has proved to be an outstanding addition to the team and the way Vieira wants us to play. Two consecutive wins means going into the third international break of the season with a job well done so far this season. Onwards to seven more wins as soon as possible!
Up the Palace.”
PLAYER RATINGS
1 Vicente Guaita (7), 2 Joel Ward (7), 16 Joachim Andersen (7), Marc Guehi (7), 3 Tyrick Mitchell (7), 23 Conor Gallagher (8), 8 Cheikhou Kouyate (8), 18 James McArthur (7), 11 Wilfried Zaha (7), 22 Odsonne Edouard (7), 20 Christian Benteke (7)
SUBSTITUTES – 1 Jack Butland, 4 Luka Milivojevic, 5 James Tomkins, 7 Michael Olise (replaced Edouard on 80 mins – 6), 9 Jordan Ayew (replaced Benteke on 89 mins – 6), 15 Jeffrey Schlupp (replaced McArthur on 80 mins – 6), 17 Nathaniel Clyne, 34 Martin Kelly, 44 Jairo Riedewald
OPPOSITION LINE-UP
1 Malheiro de Sa, 23 Kilman, 16 Coady, 27 Saiss, 22 Nelson Semedo, 8 Neves, 28 Joao Moutinho, 3 Ait-Nouri, 11 Machado Trincao, 26 Hwang Hee-Chan, 9 Jiminez
SUBSTITUTES – 2 Hoever, 10 Podence (replaced Trincao on 68 mins), Moulden, 15 Boly, 17 Fabio Silva (replaced Hee-Chan on 90 mins), 21 Ruddy, 32 Dendoncker, 37 Traore (replaced Semedo on 68 mins), 39 Cundle
POST GAME QUOTES
PATRICK VIEIRA – “We didn’t play as well as we wanted but we were patient. We showed we are getting this maturity to perform week after week. Wolves are well organised and we knew it would be difficult to find space. My team is still improving. We have made a step forward. Today VAR went in our favour. I knew the foundations of this club would allow me to work well. This is a club that wants to improve and do better every year. The fans are the reason we are doing well at home. It’s a special place.”
BRUNO LAGE – “We didn’t play the way we should. We need to play better. I think the most important thing is to look at our game. It’s a hard place to come but during the 90 minutes I was disappointed with the performance. It’s a moment to learn. We played against strong team. We are playing well but that is not enough. We have to fight for the team. They were better than us with the ball.”
MATCH STATISTICS
The Who Scored man of the match was Conor Gallagher (8.6) as Odsonne Edouard (4) had the most shots. The most tackles were made by Cheikhou Kouyate (8) while Odsonne Edouard (4) had the most dribbles.
- Team rating: 7.15 – 6.27
- Total shots: 13 – 4
- Shots on target: 6 – 2
- Possession: 59.4% – 40.6%
- Pass success: 83% – 74%
- Passes: 536 – 356
- Dribbles: 13 – 7
- Aerials won: 15 – 11
- Tackles: 25 – 31
- Fouls: 14 – 13
- Corners: 4 – 6
- Saves: 2 – 4
- Dispossessed: 25 – 12
POSITION IN THE TABLE
At full time, Palace were 9th in the Premier League with 15 points from 11 games played, a point behind Wolves in 8th and level with Spurs in 10th.
UPCOMING FIXTURES
20/11/21 Burnley (a) – Premier League (3pm)
27/11/21 Aston Villa (h) – Premier League (3pm)
30/11/21 Leeds United (a) – Premier
