Today to put it simply West Brom were not on form and neither did they have the rub of the green. West Brom’s three best players all came on as substitutions and caused threats at times, in particular the tenacious Bearhino. When I sifted through the stats from todays game I have to admit that I was a bit miffed being a spectator at the game as to how West Brom managed twice the amount of passes but were somehow outplayed. West Brom were good at taking players on (9/9) and completing passes with a completion rate of 77% to palace’s 64% but they did not do the nitty gritty at the back.
Palace consistently won headed duels not to mention managing 40 clearances in the match compared to West Brom who managed a mere 25. As I looked at the heat map for todays match it was crystal clear that Palace were winning key midfield battles with the no nonsense Jedinak and decent Dikgacoi but when it came to the flanks it has to be said that Yannick Bolasie was below Parr without his Norwegian full back to help with overlaps and distribution. The second goal was the most appalling defending I have seen for a corner for a very long time with Ledley strolling into the area and heading home like it was Christmas. The first goal was tough on the Baggies with Ince chipping home and showing that quality is priceless. The third goal was a penalty however the lead up another example of pathetic defending as Chamakh cruised through beating a man drawing the keeper in and winning a penalty. textbook stuff.
I hope my player ratings that I composed with some advice from Talbs will give you some insight into what was an exciting game.
- Speroni 7/10
- Ward 7/10
- Delaney 7/10
- Dann 6/10
- Ledley 8/10
- Dikgacoi 6/10
- Jedinak 6/10
- Puncheon 6/10
- Ince 8/10
- Bolasie 5/10
- Chamakh (Moroccan Ibrahimovic) 7/10
Puncheon above our weight 