There is a real feeling that with a close to fully fit squad, Patrick Vieira is still to find the starting line up that he is confident with but the Frenchman and his coaching staff have to bring out the attacking talent of this group of players in order to progress.
DATE
12th February 2022
RESULT
Brentford 0-0 Crystal Palace
VENUE
Lionel Road, Brentford TW8 0RU
OFFICIALS
Referee: Simon Hooper. Assistants: Simon Long, Derek Eaton. Fourth official: Robert Jones. VAR: John Brooks. Assistant VAR: Constantine Hatzidakis
DISCIPLINE
BOOKINGS – Sergi Canos (42)
RED CARD – none
GOALS
None
ASSISTS
None
TEB VERDICT
It is not often that you see two goalless draws in a season between the same two teams but that has been the case. Both games were finely balance but the Eagles should really have pushed on to take all three points and the players and staff will know that. With two consecutive away games against lower opposition Palace have taken two points when the really should have had more, but neither opposition have made up any ground so it could have been much worse.
Palace huffed and puffed but could not find a way of breaking down a stubborn opponent. We are seeing this more and more now, sides facing the Eagles know there is talent in the squad and set up to defend deep and we just cannot seem to break them down enough to take victory. The side need to have a focal point up front from the start, such as JP Mateta, who did well when he came on, or Christian Benteke. Unfortunately, Odsonne Edouard performs better in this side when he is wide of a front three.
There were times in the game where Palace had the hosts at their mercy but they just could not find that final ball and be wiser to what opponents are doing. It will come as this is a side still learning under Vieira and it is very much a moment to respect the point.
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.
“So in 180 minutes of football between the two teams this season not a single goal was scored. That statistic probably summed up the game today with few if any real goal scoring opportunities at either end. A game which lacked quality producing a distinctly scrappy performance with Brentford the happier with the point after a poor run of results.
As I wrote in the review against Norwich, rightly or wrongly, I predicted Edouard and Ayew would start. However, it did mean a midfield and width which lacked the necessary creative abilities to unlock a Brentford side that defended in numbers. The only positives today were keeping a clean sheet and seeing the return of McArthur from the bench.
Our substitutions today, McArthur apart because of a Hughes injury, were perplexing. Olise was introduced far too late into the game to make any impact. Ultimately though, two points from the Norwich and Brentford games is a poor return. Although another point edges us away from the danger zone, the eleventh draw of the season today confirms we are way short of competing for a top eight position.
Mitchell arguably again shaded it as man of the match in an underwhelming team display. Significant improvements will be required to gain much needed points in our next two home games. Up the Palace!”
PLAYER RATINGS
13 Vicente Guaita (7), 2 Joel Ward (6), 16 Joachim Andersen (8), 6 Marc Guehi (7), 3 Tyrick Mitchell (7), 23 Conor Gallagher (6), 12 Will Hughes (6), 15 Jeffrey Schlupp (6), 9 Jordan Ayew (6), 22 Odsonne Edouard (6), 11 Wilfried Zaha (7)
SUBSTITUTES – 1 Jack Butland, 4 Luka Milivojevic, 5 James Tomkins, 7 Michael Olise (6 – replaced Ayew on 78 mins), 10 Eberechi Eze, 14 Jean-Philippe Mateta (6 – replaced Edouard on 72 mins), 17 Nathaniel Clyne, 18 James McArthur (6 – replaced Hughes on 66 mins), 20 Christian Benteke
OPPOSITION LINE-UP
1 Raya, 20 Ajer, 18 Jansson, 5 Pinnock, 7 Canos, 8 Jensen, 6 Norgaard, 27 Janelt, 3 Henry, 19 Mbeumo, 11 Wissa
SUBSTITUTES – 10 Dasilva (replaced Janelt on 61 mins), 14 Ghoddos (replaced Wissa on 82 mins), 15 Onyeka, 26 Baptiste (replaced Canos on 86 mins), 29 Bach Sorensen, 30 Roerslev, 36 Stevens, 40 Fernandez, 49 Lossl
POST GAME QUOTES
PATRICK VIEIRA – “In possession I don’t think we linked well enough to give them problems. I think out of possession we did fantastically well. The front three helped us defensively. Overall, I think the draw is fair for both teams. I think it’s all credit to the opposition. We came here with the plan to create chances and trouble the opposition, but they made it very difficult for us. As a team, I’m happy with the point we took today. It’s fantastic to have talent in your team, but we need a plan together – how we can create chances and score goals. At the moment, that’s a step forward we need to make as a team. We have the talent, but it’s not going to be enough.”
THOMAS FRANK – “We got a point, first and foremost. I think this performance is the same level as the Wolves game – if there should have been a narrow winner, it should have been us. Today, again, it should have been a narrow winner – us. We created good opportunities. We gave one chance away which was our only mistake. If we can keep that up, we’d be in a good place. We needed to create more to get one goal – that’s maybe down to the quality on the day. There are a lot of positives to take from this game.”
MATCH STATISTICS
The Who Scored man of the match was Ethan Pinnock (8.1) as Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo and Wilfried Zaha (2) had the most shots. The most tackles were made Christian Norgaard (10) while the most dribbles were by Mathias Jansson and Wilfried Zaha (4)
- Team rating: 6.85 – 6.67
- Total shots: 9 – 6
- Shots on target: 2 – 3
- Possession: 42.5% – 57.5%
- Pass success: 69% – 78%
- Passes: 372 – 499
- Dribbles: 10 – 14
- Aerials won: 22 – 16
- Tackles: 31 – 17
- Fouls: 10 – 10
- Corners: 3 – 9
- Saves: 3 – 2
- Dispossessed: 12 – 16
POSITION IN THE TABLE
At the final whistle, Palace were 12th in the Premier League with 26 points from 24 games played, a point behind Villa in 11th and level with Leicester in 13th.
UPCOMING FIXTURES
19/02/22 Chelsea (h) – Premier League (3pm)
23/02/22 Watford (a) – Premier League (7.30pm)
26/02/22 Burnley (h) – Premier League (3pm)
