Crystal Palace vs Leicester City 21/22

Hi everyone,

Hope you are all well.

Only 6 days after our game against Brighton, on Sunday 3rd of September, Palace were back in action at Selhurst Park for our first Sunday kick off against Leicester City. Leicester hadn’t started the season particularly well in comparison to their last season’s efforts, picking up 7 points in their opening 6 games. With that being said only 1 point were separating the teams going into the game, with Leicester being on top.

Patrick Viera had named the same starting 11 as the Brighton game, once again sticking with Ayew even though he hasn’t scored in over 30 appearances. The atmosphere was electric as always when welcoming the boys in red and blue out onto the pitch. There was a 1-minute applause before the game in memory of Roger Hunt, whenever we have minute silences or applause, the immediate roar from the crowd after is always extra exhilarating!

The game started at 2pm, and surprisingly the captains chose to swap ends so we was shooting towards the Holmesdale first half. Leicester had the first chance of the game as a free kick was awarded, it was whipped in onto the head of Vardy before being sent goal-wards, but thankfully Ward was switched on at the far post to send it out for a corner. Palace had a near instant chance themselves, starting with Zaha in the middle of the park being able to play the ball up to Edouard, who with a great touch could bring Gallagher into action as he spread the ball out wide to Ayew, his cross was met by Edouard again in the box, the defender beat him too it, Ayew tried to apply pressure on the keeper, but he was able to keep hold. Great start from us as we use our pace to our advantage but nothing in the score line to show just yet. Once again for the majority game we did so well in closing down the ball and not giving them unnecessary time. The next chance came from a Zaha low driven shot, after some sloppy mistakes from both teams in the midfield McArthur ended up with the ball, he was able to drive towards and into the box before playing it onto Zaha, his shot was saved by the legs of Schmeichel. Gallagher managed to keep the ball alive in the box, but his shot was also kept out by the keepers legs. Guaita was called to action briefly to make a good save, from a long range shot from Tielemans. A scare from Mitchell as he was on the ground holding his face momentarily, thankfully he was fine; we don’t have a backup left back if he were to ever be seriously injured, we could have some real problems. Leicester was making so many sloppy mistakes, but frustratingly we went about to take advantage of this. After some beautiful play in the middle of the pitch from Zaha and Gallagher, Palace were able to get back into their attacking third via Zaha, could have gone down for a free kick after being pulled back, but chose the harder route of remaining on his feet, the ball found its way out wide to Ayew, but his cross went through all the players and back out to Wilf to try to rebuild. A mistake from Andersen after being under pressure from the Leicester striker, and within seconds Iheanacho was through one-on-one with Guaita, the keeper came out to close down the angles, but the ball went straight through past legs and into the back of the net. We had so many chances and were arguably the better team so far, we just couldn’t find the back of the net, a mistake at that moment was the last thing we needed! It went from bad to worse very quickly, as Barnes was allowed to drive towards the box before playing the ball out to Vardy, a slip from Andersen whilst trying to stop the ball gave Vardy time and space to come into the box, and out of nowhere we were 2-0 behind as his shot finds the back of the net. This goal wasn’t as much Andersen’s fault it was just poor play in the midfield, putting us 2-0 down in the space of 10 minutes which was so disappointing, especially after the amount of chances we’ve had. The half ended with a few more chances for Palace but none were executed.

The team left the field to loud booing from the home fans, as the players looked deflated, hopefully it would spur them on for the second half. During half time there was a random downpour (slight bit of pathetic fallacy there based on the mood around the stadium), so we got pretty wet whilst waiting for the second half to begin. Schlupp and Olise were sent out early to warm out, suggesting it was Patrick’s plan to bring them on shortly. We were hoping Patrick was able to give the boys a well needed team talk, but in contrast to how they exited they were welcomed back onto the pitch with an uproar of motivation, we knew they didn’t deserve to be losing and if they ever needed us behind them, it’s now when being 2-0 down!

The second half started, and the rain continued to pour. Leicester started the half with the same momentum they went in with, a chance from Barnes but it was blazed into the side netting, if we weren’t careful this could’ve been a very ugly score line. Edouard had a huge chance early in the half, receiving the ball outside the box, he cut inside before sending the ball goal-wards, he had to score it, but the crossbar kept it out! Good spell of possession and shots for Palace but again none could find the back of the net. Viera obviously still wasn’t happy with what he was seeing, an early substitution in the 53rd minute saw Olise come on in replace of Ayew, he got a huge cheer onto the pitch as he was finally given more minutes. We may have been losing but the crowd still continued to be electric. Sometimes the centre backs would try too hard to get the ball to the attackers at the other end of the pitch, most of the time I’m a fan, but in this game, I think we lost the ball too many times when there were alternative options. In the 61st minute Mitchell was able to drive into the box with the ball at his feet (once again showing his attacking threat!), the ball found Olise who was waiting in the box, his first attempt on target was blocked, but the ball fell invitingly for the second shot and his volley found its way into the back of the net! What a moment for the young lad as the stadium erupted extra loud for his first Palace goal! 2-1 and we were back in the game! The 70th minute saw Viera make his second change, bringing Schlupp on for Gallagher; I was pretty confused at first, but I did understand the sub as Schlupp could supply us with some needed pace, and give Conor a rest for once. On the pitch for 48 seconds against his former team and he was instantly involved, Olise crossed the ball into the box, which was full of both Palace and Leicester players, the defenders could deal with the first two tasks, but the ball was kept alive by us, finally an unmarked Schlupp was able to do a diving header sending the ball into the back of the net! Huge credit to Viera for making the 2 changes, the super subs made an incredible impact after being on the pitch for minimal time. 2-2 we were well and truly back in the game! Maddison was also on the pitch now for Leicester, pregame the opponents warm up right in front of us, and Maddison had a conversion rate of 25% during shooting practice, so I wasn’t too worried about him. The noise was insane from the home fans as we had silenced the away end. In the typical nature of English weather it became really warm in the second half as the sun came out, once again illustrating the mood around Selhurst Park! There were some dodgy decisions from the ref in the second half, but thankfully none were game changing, but the pauses in play did allow Leicester to time waste where possible, he got some deserved stick from the fans though. There was a lengthy pause in play as Vardy was down after a coming together with McArthur, one of the medics was a bit too eager for Halloween as his suit made him look like a ghostbuster! During the break our final substitution was made with the introduction of Benteke in replace of Edouard. The final 10 minutes of the game saw Palace continue their dominance, we really did deserve a third goal after the second half performance, and to come away with the 3 points. After Olise was bought on the pitch he was on corner duties, suggesting he may be share them with Luka when played; one of his late deliveries found the head of Schlupp, but his header was sent wide of the post. We pushed for a winner but was forced to settle for the point, 2-2 final score.

WE ARE STILL UNBEATEN AT HOME!

Amazing comeback from the boys, huge amounts of resilience and determination on show in the second half, we deserved more after dominating the second half, but I’m happy we came away with something after looking down and out at half time. This was my uncle's first game at Selhurst in a while, so he defiantly picked a great game to attend! I think the crowd played a big part in the motivation of the team, but also Viera deserves lots of credit for his tactic changes. MOTM was given to Olise, he definitely deserved it, hopefully this puts him in Viera’s plan for Arsenal after the international break. He looked incredible when he came on, obviously getting his goal, playing his part in creating the second, showing off his skill qualities when attacking, and also tracking back for defensive duties when needed. The 19-year-old became the youngest Palace player to score in the Premier League this century, just his first step in writing history! Palace are now sitting in 14th place with 7 points.

Match stats:

• Palace had a total of 60% possession, Leicester had 40%

• Palace had a total of 18 shots with 4 on target.

• Leicester had 9 shots with 5 on target.

After the Tottenham game a few weeks back I met Guaita and he said he’d give me his shirt after our next game, he is a man of his word and kept his promise; after the final whistle of this game he came over to my seat to hand it to me, I’m very grateful and can’t wait to get it framed along with my others after it’s been signed.

Our next game is against Arsenal at the Emirates in 2 weeks after the international break, it is another Monday night kick off but I’m not attending, so my next post will be on the Newcastle game on Saturday 23rd of October.

Thank you for reading

Ellie Xx