A result like this had been coming if Patrick Vieira got his starting line up and tactics right, and it all came together at Vicarage Road with four quality goals and a particularly impressive second half performance to see out the victory.
DATE
23rd February 2022
RESULT
Watford 1-4 Crystal Palace
VENUE
Vicarage Road, Watford WD18 0ER
OFFICIALS
Referee: Andre Marriner. Assistants: Scott Ledger, Derek Eaton. Fourth official: Simon Hooper. VAR: Mike Dean. Assistant VAR: Mark Scholes.
DISCIPLINE
BOOKINGS – Samir (40), Cheikhou Kouyate (44), Kiko Femenia (62)
RED CARD – none
GOALS
Jean-Philippe Mateta (15), Moussa Sissoko (18), Conor Gallagher (42), Wilfried Zaha (85, 90)
ASSISTS
Tyrick Mitchell (44), Kiko Femenia (18), Jordan Ayew (85), James McArthur (90)
TEB VERDICT
For what was only the second away win in the league this season, it certainly did not look like it as Palace played with confidence, scored quality goals and saw out the game with relative ease. Yes, the opposition was poor and certainly not a Roy Hodgson side as they showed no fight at all, but this was a night to celebrate. The victory has pushed the club to the brink of the 30 point barrier and eased any worry of being dragged into what is looking like quite a battle towards the lower end of the table. Not only that, but a win at home to Burnley at the weekend may just allow the Eagles to concentrate on reaching the latter stages of the FA Cup.
PLAYER RATINGS
1 Jack Butland (6), 17 Nathaniel Clyne (7), 16 Joachim Andersen (6), 6 Marc Guehi (7), 3 Tyrick Mitchell (7), 23 Conor Gallagher (7), 12 Will Hughes (6), 8 Cheikhou Kouyate (7), 14 Jean-Philippe Mateta (8), 7 Michael Olise (7), 11 Wilfried Zaha (9)
SUBSTITUTES – 4 Luka Milivojevic, 9 Jordan Ayew (6 – replaced Olise on 73 mins), 10 Eberechi Eze, 15 Jeffrey Schlupp, 18 James McArthur (6 – replaced Will Hughes on 80 mins), 19 Remi Matthews, 20 Christian Benteke, 22 Odsonne Edouard (6 – replaced Mateta on 90+1 mins), 34 Martin Kelly
OPPOSITION LINE-UP
1 Foster, 21 Femenia, 15 Cathcart, 22 Samir, 14 Kamara, 19 Sissoko, 6 Louza, 8 Cleverley, 23 Sarr, 7 King, 25 Dennis
SUBSTITUTES – 2 Ngakia, 5 Troost-Ekong, 11 Masina, 12 Sema, 26 Bachmann, 27 Kabasele, 28 Kalu, 29 Hernandez (replaced King on 51 mins), 39 Kayembe (replaced Cleverley on 73 mins)
POST GAME QUOTES
PATRICK VIEIRA – “It was a big win, an important win, but it is about the performance and that allowed us to win the game. I am really pleased with the discipline and work ethic we showed. That is a massive difference from the last couple of games, we had chances where we didn’t score those goals – today we created chances and scored goals, but overall it is the team performance, for me the work he Zaha did out of possession was massively important.
We performed well as a team out of possession and that allowed us to create those chances and score goals. It was the discipline, the concentration from the players, we didn’t allow them to express themselves and that gave us momentum, belief, and we stuck to the game plan. It was overall quite good. The win is important because that gives us confidence for the rest of the season, but the performance is key, because in the last couple of games we were missing those goals – if we play well, we have more chance of winning games.”
ROY HODGSON – “We were punished harshly for having ability to block the crosses and shots from the edge of the box, for large parts it was fairly even, the problem was when the ball arrived they took their chances and scored goals. The last two we can’t complain about, but we didn’t do enough to block the shot or cross – it was a comfortable win for Crystal Palace without them having to outplay us. Wilf is a very good player and is playing very well this year, it bodes well for them in the games that come because with the form he is in they can look forward to more victories.
We had two good spells, quite a good spell during the second half as well, moving the ball quicker and playing through midfield, but we weren’t able to make good enough chances. It is a harsh defeat in terms of the score line, to win by 4-1 was harsh on the Watford players today and the effort they put in. When you get a very good away win, everyone expects you to come out and win because that is what the dreams are made of, unfortunately it doesn’t always work that way. That is something we have to accept and must not allow it to affect what we do in future matches.”
MATCH STATISTICS
The Who Scored man of the match was Wilfried Zaha (9.3) as Emmanuel Dennis (4) had the most shots. The most tackles were made Tyrick Mitchell and Michael Olise (4) while the most dribbles were by Ismaila Sarr (3)
- Team rating: 6.09 – 7.17
- Total shots: 8 – 7
- Shots on target: 1 – 5
- Possession: 46.4% – 53.6%
- Pass success: 80% – 84%
- Passes: 452 – 544
- Dribbles: 6 – 8
- Aerials won: 11 – 9
- Tackles: 12 – 21
- Fouls: 12 – 9
- Corners: 6 – 4
- Saves: 1 – 0
- Dispossessed: 8 – 6
POSITION IN THE TABLE
At the final whistle, Palace were 11th in the Premier League with 29 points from 26 games played, 3 points behind Southampton in 10th and 2 points ahead of Leicester in 12th.
UPCOMING FIXTURES
26/02/22 Burnley (h) – Premier League (3pm)
01/03/22 Stoke City (h) – FA Cup (7.30pm)
05/03/22 Wolves (a) – Premier League (3pm)
