In what has been an extremely odd Premier League campaign for the Eagles, they finish with a big home victory and are rewarded for a superb unbeaten run with a remarkable tenth-place finish.
MATCH INFORMATION
- 4pm – 19th May 2024
- Crystal Palace 5-0 Aston Villa
- Selhurst Park, Holmesdale Road, London SE25 6PU
PLAYER RATINGS
| 30 | Dean HENDERSON | 7.4 |
| 12 | Daniel MUNOZ | 8.1 |
| 16 | Joachim ANDERSEN (5 James TOMKINS 87 mins) | 7.0 (6.2) |
| 26 | Chris RICHARDS | 7.2 |
| 17 | Nathaniel CLYNE | 7.1 |
| 3 | Tyrick MITCHELL | 7.7 |
| 20 | Adam WHARTON (44 Jairo RIEDEWALD 87 mins) | 7.3 (6.0) |
| 6 | Marc GUEHI © (8 Jefferson LERMA 76 mins) | 7.1 (6.3) |
| 10 | Eberechi EZE (9 Jordan AYEW 88 mins) | 10.0 (6.0) |
| 7 | Michael OLISE | 7.9 |
| 14 | Jean-Philippe MATETA (22 Odsonne EDOUARD 76 mins) | 10.0 (6.0) |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – 2 Joel WARD, 15 Jeffrey SCHLUPP, 31 Remi MATTHEWS, 52 David OZOH
OPPOSITION LINE-UP
| 25 | Robin OLSEN | 5.9 |
| 4 | Ezri KONSA | 5.6 |
| 3 | Deigo CARLOS | 5.4 |
| 17 | Clement LENGLET | 5.2 |
| 12 | Lucas DIGNE | 6.1 |
| 19 | Moussa DIABY (29 Kaine KESLER-HAYDEN 87 | 5.6 (6.0) |
| 16 | Calum CHAMBERS (47 Tim IROEGBUNAM 68 mins) | 5.7 (6.0) |
| 6 | David LUIZ | 5.8 |
| 7 | John MCGINN (69 Finley MUNROE 87 mins) | 5.6 (6.0) |
| 24 | Jhon DURAN | 5.8 |
| 11 | Ollie WATKINS (71 Omari KELLYMAN 69 mins) | 5.7 (5.9) |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – 14 Pau TORRES, 18 Joe GAUCI, 55 Lander EMERY, 72 Kadan YOUNG
TEB VERDICT
One of the opening comments from Oliver Glasner when he arrived in South London was ‘I am not a magician’. Well Mr Glasner, you could have fooled us!
This run of seven games without defeat which included six wins and a draw, ending in the demolition of Villa in the final game, has been quite remarkable. The way that the Austrian has transformed the size is truly magical work and it leaves us wanting more.
This was a performance that really was the icing on the cake for this group of players, and while we hope and pray that the majority of them stay at the club for next season, we know that we bid a fond farewell to James Tomkins and Jairo Riedewald who got some minutes in what was a nice touch.
A hat-trick from the goal machine that is Jean-Philippe Mateta and a brace from Ebere Eze capped a marvellous all-round display from a group of players that have truly bought into the vision that their boss has.
Obviously, there will be question marks hanging over the futures of Olise, Eze and Guehi, but we can rest in the knowledge that the Eagles finish in tenth place and above Brighton. That is something else we can enjoy all summer long.
The future is very bright indeed.
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.
“We witnessed a complete five star performance today topping off a remarkable end to the season of 6 wins and 1 draw. Those 7 games yielded a total of 21 goals scored with only 4 conceded ensuring a final 10th position.
When we were soundly beaten 4-1 at the Amex in February, I’m sure such a strong finish to the season leapfrogging Brighton in the process would have been beyond anybody’s prediction. Such a radical change in performances and fortunes should quite rightly sit with the positive influence of Oliver Glasner on our players tactically, technically and physically.
Today confirmed the progression our team has made since that low point in February. The quartet of Mateta, Eze, Olise and Wharton would together cause problems for any team in this league supported by our other players whose overall aim is to win possession back as quickly as possible.
Players fit seamlessly into a basic 3-4-3 shape which never remains rigid but is constantly changing with excellent movement and intent when in possession. Additionally, we have witnessed significant improvements in player fitness and technical levels which is perfectly summed up especially by the performances of Mateta, Clyne and Hughes during the recent impressive run of results.
Although today we saw excellent performances from 1 to 11, my man of the match goes to Mateta. Apparently he is our first player to score a hat-trick in the Premier League era.
Looking forward, the challenge now is for the club to keep key players like Olise and Eze for next season enabling the team under the leadership of Glasner to progress from the current 10th position finish.
A special mention too of the atmosphere today. It was Selhurst at its very best. Very loud and proud! Have a great summer everyone and see you all again in August.”
POST GAME QUOTES
OLIVER GLASNER
“It was another great performance, but to be honest there were 10 to 15 minutes in the first half where we could have conceded especially from set-plays. But after the second goal and some small adaptations at half-time, we could see how the players are enjoying playing together and having fun on the pitch, so it was a great end to the season.
Jean-Philippe has a lot of confidence. He makes the runs, he works hard and he has a great finish but he needs the support of all his team-mates.
The club is working hard that we can keep all the players and what we could do is show that we are ambitious, the journey and the direction that they can go in, that they can express themselves and show all their qualities. Crystal Palace, with these fans and this team is a good place to stay.”
UNAI EMERY
“When you lose 5-0 you are disappointed, and maybe a little bit embarrassed by the result. We were not 100% with our power we have showed all season, and of course we did everything on Monday against Liverpool at home. We finished in our mind on Tuesday when we achieved our target for the season, and today we tried to have a good finish to the season but we did not play with consistency.
It was a difficult match because they are playing very well, and secondly because we had finished in our minds the season when we achieved the result last Tuesday. We tried to compete and be organised like we have all season, but we have to accept how we have finished and how we achieved our objective last Tuesday.”
MATCH STATISTICS
| Star Man | Jean-PHILIPPE MATETA, Ebere EZE (10.0) |
| Goals | Jean-Philippe MATETA (9, 39, 63), Ebere EZE (54, 69) |
| Assists | Michael OLISE (9), Daniel MUNOZ (39), Ebere EZE (63), Jean-Philippe MATETA (69) |
| Most shots | Michael OLISE (6) |
| Most tackles | Ebere EZE, Lucas DIGNE (4) |
| Most dribbles | Nathaniel CLYNE, Ebere EZE, Michael OLISE, Adam WHARTON, Tyrick MITCHELL (1) |
| Team rating | 7.33 – 5.75 |
| Total shots | 15 – 8 |
| Shots on target | 3 – 6 |
| Yellow cards | John MCGINN (18), Joachim ANDERSEN (24), Lucas DIGNE (58), Douglas LUIZ (73), Clement LENGLET (90+1) |
| Red cards | None |
| Possession | 54.5% – 45.5% |
| Pass success | 89% – 86% |
| Passes | 545 – 446 |
| Dribbles | 5 – 2 |
| Aerials won | 9 – 9 |
| Tackles | 19 – 10 |
| Fouls | 10 – 8 |
| Corners | 2 – 4 |
| Saves | 2 – 4 |
| Dispossessed | 4 – 14 |
POSITION IN THE TABLE (at the final whistle)
| POS | TEAM | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 9 | West Ham United | 14 | 10 | 14 | -14 | 52 |
| 10 | Crystal Palace | 13 | 10 | 15 | -1 | 49 |
| 11 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 12 | 12 | 14 | -7 | 48 |
1 comment
I have been a Palace supporter for over 70 years,l even used to play every week on the pitch with the then first team trainer’s (Tom Broly and think Blackman)so I’ve seen all the great players through the ages that we’ve had starting with the great Johny Bryne and many years off ups and downs but l think this has to be the best team that I’ve seen at Palace,I’m so looking forward to next season too see what we can do.
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