Crystal Palace continued their ascendancy into the top half of the Premier League table with a convincing 2-0 win over Wolves.
Patrick Vieira masterminded yet another statement victory to keep his Crystal Palace team on the ascendancy into the top half of the table. The London club’s latest win came over high-flying Wolves after goals from Wilfried Zaha and Conor Gallagher secured the points.
The game was billed for excitement, considering the form both teams showed coming into this one. Crystal Palace, however, looked right in control for most parts of the match, and it was a surprise the home team failed to score in the first period.
The Eagles came out stronger in the second half and kept knocking on Jose Sa’s goal. James McArthur’s through ball split the Wolves defence, as Zaha curled the ball into the far corner. The linesman adjudged the Ivory Coast international offside initially, only for VAR to intervene and confirm the goal, as Conor Coady had played the Crystal Palace talisman onside.
Later, the in-form Gallager collected a loose ball from outside the box and shot towards the flocking bodies of Wolves defenders. The strike deflected off Coady to wrong foot Jose Sa and double Palace’s lead. A Joao Moutinho free-kick later in the half was the first time Vincente Guaita was really troubled.
That was fun ?#CPFC | #CRYWOL pic.twitter.com/dsv4fG6IQN
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) November 6, 2021
In the end, Crystal Palace were comfortable enough to see out the game and keep a well deserved clean sheet. The Eagles look progressive in their approach, and Patrick Vieira has proven his mettle with the current group of stars. Here’s a look at how Crystal Palace players fared against Wolves in their convincing win at Selhurst Park.
Vincente Guaita: 6/10
He was barely troubled all evening, barring tame efforts and later a decent free-kick from Moutinho, which he saved. Guaita looked in control of his box when called upon, although it was a surprisingly quiet time for the Spaniard in goal.
Joel Ward: 6/10
A good outing, where Ward was defensively switched on. He made some last-ditch challenges to deny Wolves a route into the penalty area, keeping things calm at the back. He dealt well with the threat of Ait-Nouri on his side.
Joachim Andersen: 7/10
Andersen is slowly blossoming into a top Premier League defender, as his distribution, quality of balls, particularly those diagonal ones, showed. Kept things tight at the back along with Guehi.
Marc Guehi: 6/10
A similarly good performance to Andersen, as Guehi, kept things tight and neutralised the threat of Raul Jimenez. His early booking looked concerning, but the youngster saw out the game without much fuss later.
Tyrick Mitchell: 6/10
Mitchell proved a good outlet on the left-hand side, although his failure to get forward or contribute to the final third activities made the first half dull. He was improved in the second period without anything exciting to report about.
Conor Gallagher: 8/10
No Chelsea player has scored more Premier League goals this season than Conor Gallagher (4).
But he’s doing it for Paddy’s Palace. ?#CPFC pic.twitter.com/lkaUUZv6Io
— William Hill (@WilliamHill) November 6, 2021
What a talent Gallagher is turning out to be; he now has goals in consecutive games. Moreover, his overall performances are grabbing the right headlines, as yet again Gallagher proved his worth. He will be hoping that Thomas Tuchel will watch the highlights of this game and his performance in particular.
Cheikhou Kouyate: 6/10
Kouyate yet again stuck to his role rather than thinking of doing anything out of sorts. He proved effective in many ways as he offers a sense of control in midfield, as seen in recent games. He will continue to keep Luka Milivojevic out of the lineup with such performances.
James McArthur: 7/10
McArthur kept things ticking for Palace as he helped progress the ball from deep areas. His through ball to Zaha was visionary and helped break the deadlock, after which Palace had total control of the match.
Odsonne Edouard: 7.5/10
What a signing Edouard is turning out to be. A trigger happy striker who gets into an offensive position and provides a surprise treat in the box. Against Wolves, the Frenchman was weaving some decent chances together, and for the season, he will prove crucial to Vieira’s side.
Christian Benteke: 7.5/10
Benteke might have missed a few good chances from which he should have scored. However, he provided such a brilliant platform for Zaha, Edouard and Gallagher to attack in this game. He is becoming a proper focal point striker in Vieira’s plan and will hope for such performances to continue.
Wilfried ZahaL 8/10
Wolves focused on marking Zaha tightly, and he could not break down the defence at his will. However, when he had the chance from that pass by McArthur, he grabbed them with both hands to give Palace the lead. What an example Zaha is setting for the younger players.
Wilfried Zaha has been directly involved in 5 goals in his last 6 Premier League starts.
4 goals & 1 assist. ? pic.twitter.com/27GJqUo1Uo
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) November 6, 2021
SUBSTITUTES
Jeffrey Schulpp: 6/10
Schlupp combined well with Michael Olise on the right-hand side and also helped shore up the defence. Helped to see the game out in the end.
Michael Olise: 6.5/10
Every time he had the ball, the youngster looked vibrant—another bright cameo from Olise, who created one brilliant chance in the box.
Jordan Ayew: N/A
Ayew was hardly involved after coming on and did not play enough to warrant a rating.
