Palace Battle Back To Take Point Off Rivals Brighton

The gap between the two sides had Palace fans understandably concerned ahead of kick off and while the visitors showed some of what has got then to the league position they find themselves in, the Eagles remained undeterred.

TIME/ DATE/ VENUE

• 3pm
• 11^th February 2023
• Selhurst Park, Holmesdale Road, London SE25 6PU

RESULT

Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton

PLAYER RATINGS

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – 4 Luka MILIVOJEVIC, 18 James MCARTHUR, 21 Sam JOHNSTONE, 41 Joe WHITWORTH, 44 Jairo RIEDEWALD

OPPOSITION LINE-UP

UNSED SUBSTITUTES – 19 Jeremy SARIMIENTO, 20 Julio ENCISO, 23 Jason STEELE, 26 Yasim AYARI, 29 Jan Paul van HECKE, 4- Facundo BUONANOTTE, 49 Andrew MORAN

TEB VERDICT

The Eagles put in a battling display to hold the visitors to a point which is more than many had expected, but as we know from past rivalry games, form does not mean a huge amount. The visitors managed to get their noses in front, the first thankfully down to an offside decision thanks to VAR but the second stood.

There was plenty of character to get into the game and that was thanks to a howler by the Brighton goalkeeper which ensured that the points were shared.

Palace huffed and puffed and managed to do just enough to grab a point but with a third choice centre back and without Zaha, it is perhaps a point gained.

You have to consider Patrick Vieira was somewhat restricted with the starting line up after Chris Richards picked up a back injury on the day of the game meaning James Tomkins stepping with Joachim Anderson already ruled out. With the lack of ball playing skills by Tomkins, it was clear that the only other option was paying JP Mateta up front to give another option via the long ball but that rarely paid off with the visiting defence holding the French striker at bay.

All in all, it was a hard earned point by the Eagles which stretched the undefeated run against Brighton.

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.

“The game almost felt like a re-run to the latter stages of the Hodgson era. An organised gritty defensive performance where we dug in deep to earn a point yet in the end one that probably left most Palace fans frustrated. A lack of movement, poor use of any possession and a distinct lack of quality in the final third produced little threat to Brighton’s defence.

Only a catastrophic howler by Sanchez gave us the opportunity to earn a point that in reality our display didn’t really deserve. The goal proved to be our only effort on target. It confirmed that we remain in a position looking over our shoulders where those four more wins required to ensure Premier League safety currently look a challenge to achieve.

Our man of the match today was Guaita closely followed by Hughes, Ayew and Guehi. Let’s hope the combined return to fitness of Zaha, Andersen, Richards and McArthur will inject the necessary quality and approach required to improve our all round team performances.”

POST GAME QUOTES

PATRICK VIEIRA

“I am really satisfied because it was a challenging game for us against a really strong team. Our discipline enabled us to get a point because Brighton were excellent today. They really made it difficult and stretched us. We stayed in the game until we got the goal. We needed to be aggressive, the technical level of Brighton was excellent. I am really proud of the team and players. We were compact and our game plan worked. We knew the challenges at the start of the game because Brighton are doing really well.

JAMES TOMKINS

“It is our derby for the fans it’s the biggest game of the year so it was nice to come out with a point. They give us a good game every time they play us, they have good players and a point was a reward for how hard we worked today. It was just nice to play. I haven’t played too much this year. The adrenalin was pumping so it was nice to contribute. If you look at previous games we have worked hard but not got rewards.”

ROBERTO DE ZERBI

“We lost two points but we know football. We were a little unlucky but I am really proud of the performance, the players, the quality of play and how many chances we had. We made some mistakes when we conceded the goal or when we could score. We played a fantastic game. We didn’t win but in terms of quality of play and personality there was only one team on the pitch. I always respect my opponent but my team were fantastic.”

MATCH STATISTICS

POSITION IN THE TABLE (at the final whistle)

UPCOMING FIXTURES

18/02/23 Brentford (a) – Premier League (3pm)

25/02/23 Liverpool (h) – Premier League (7.45pm)

04/03/23 Aston Villa (a) – Premier League (3pm)