Eagles Edge Five Goal Thriller At Selhurst Against Wolves

After a scrappy first half, this one turned into an exciting game in the second forty-five minutes with Palace turning on the style to take all three points for their second league victory of the season.

MATCH INFORMATION

• 2pm – 3rd September 2023
• Crystal Palace 3-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
• Selhurst Park, Holmesdale Road, London SE25 6PU

PLAYER RATINGS

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – 5 James TOMKINS, 17 Nathaniel CLYNE, 26 Chris Richards, 29 Naouirou AHAMADA, 30 Dean HENDERSON, 44 Jairo RIEDEWALD, 49 Jesurun RAK-SAKYI

OPPOSITION LINE-UP

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – 2 Matt DOHERTY, 24 Toti GOMES, 30 Enso GONZALEZ, 25 Dan BENTLEY, 63 Nathan FRASER,

TEB VERDICT

The Eagles managed to navigate a difficult first half where either team failed to get a real grip on proceedings, but the second was quite a different story. A brilliant quick move saw Palace take the lead courtesy of a striker, believe it or not, after a great assist from Tyrick Mitchell out wide which Odsonne Edouard finished with aplomb.

The opposition found their way back into the game against the run of play when a corner was headed home by substitute Hwang Hee-Chan. That equaliser just spurred the hosts on and the introduction of Jean-Philippe Mateta just gave the Eagles something extra and he was instrumental in seeing Palace through to all three points.

It was the Frenchman’s assist that found Eberechi Eze who fired home to give Palace the lead for the second time while another set up Edouard for his second of the game.

Wolves did find a late second goal but it was too little too last and Palace head into the international break with seven points from three league games and in good form, contrary to the reaction at the end of the transfer window on Friday evening.

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.

“Initially it was interesting to see amongst the limited options Palace currently have in attacking positions which starting XI Hodgson would select. Maybe no surprises that he went for the same line-up we saw last time out at Selhurst against Arsenal.

The first half was a largely disjointed affair. Both teams found it difficult to gain enough momentum and control in possession to create any clear cut chances. The half was summed up by Palace spurning a golden opportunity after what should have been a costly error by the Wolves defence. So no surprise that the half ended scoreless.

Who would have predicted during the half time break that the next half would produce a five goal fest! After a quiet first ten minutes, Palace finally created one moment of quality. It always looked likely that the way Wolves had set up very narrow defensively the best areas to exploit would be down the flanks. Mitchell delivered an excellent cross for Edouard to find space between two defenders and produce a clinical finish.

What followed was a short period of controlled possession until Wolves equalised after a quality set piece delivery assist by Neto who was by far their best player. Hodgson then almost immediately made a tactical substitution replacing Schlupp, who had a below par performance, with Mateta. Eze and Edouard were given licence to interchange positions during open play with Mateta leading the line. The outcome was dramatic. Two lay-offs by Mateta produced well taken goals by Eze and Edouard.

Wolves scored a consolation goal deep into added time but undoubtedly Palace’s second half performance deserved all three points and was very welcome going into the international break.

Overall, it may not have been the best performance we have seen at Selhurst since Hodgson’s return but every hard fought win in this league should be celebrated.

During the international break, Hodgson certainly has time to ponder on what is our best starting XI in offensive areas until the return of Olise. Schlupp appears to be lacking form and confidence, so can Hodgson find an attacking shape which accommodates the best combined qualities of Mateta, Eze and Edouard? In my opinion that’s a yes! Although Edouard will quite rightly receive plaudits for his brace of goals, particularly as many fans were calling for forward reinforcements in the recent transfer window, a mention in dispatches today for both Ayew and Mitchell. They were our stand out performers.”

POST GAME QUOTES

ROY HODGSON

“We were not good in the first half, probably unkind to say it was a poor spectacle as Wolves did well. We got much closer to that in the second half, scoring three good goals. I am very pleased with the victory but we are very much a work in progress. Victories are rejoiced and even if they are not the manner you want, you still enjoy them.”

GARY O’NEIL

“It wasn’t a game we looked like we were going to lose, we were in control but the goals were our own doing. Disappointing as I never thought the game was going to get away from us but ultimately, we did not really test their keeper.”

MATCH STATISTICS

POSITION IN THE TABLE (at the final whistle)

UPCOMING FIXTURES

16/09/23 Aston Villa (a) – Premier League 3pm

23/09/23 Fulham (h) – Premier League 3pm

26/09/23 Manchester United (a) – EFL Cup 8pm

30/09/23 Manchester United (a) – Premier League 3pm