Crystal Palace have started the season well, sitting in second place with three wins and one loss, cementing themselves as a team that should be taken seriously. Having already upset a major team in Chelsea, Alan Pardew is fast redefining expectations at Selhurst Park.
First four games
Palace find themselves in a better position than they would have thought they would be when they looked at the fixture list at the start of the season. They have been more than competitive so far in every match, picking up wins three out of four games.
9th August: Norwich 1 – 3 Crystal Palace.
Pardew’s men came out strong in their first game of the season, however, did have some luck with some interesting referee decisions preventing Norwich from drawing level at 2 – 2.
16th August: Crystal Palace 1 – 2 Arsenal
As underdogs, Palace were competitive all the way through the game and really took it to Arsenal. This game was the first where they really stood up and everybody around them took notice because it was only a fortunate own goal for Arsenal that gave them the win,
23rd August: Crystal Palace 2 – 1 Aston Villa
They could have won this game by more with lots of opportunities that were missed from close range.
30th August Chelsea 1 – 2 Crystal Palace
The best result for the Eagles so far this season. They were able to do something that only one other team (Sunderland) have managed to do, defeat a Jose Mourinho lead Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge. For much of the game they were able to control Chelsea and that put them in a position to take their first big scalp of the season.
Transfer window performance
Palace have used the transfer window to great success during the summer period. The record signing of Yohan Cabaye from Paris Saint-German is already having an impact on the side and is developing into a key component in the team’s midfield with most of the attacking play coming through his passing. Bakary Sako was also another good pickup for the side after arriving from Wolverhampton for free. Since debuting against Aston Villa, Sako has been a great attacking weapon using his strength and speed to devastating effect. The 27-year-old has scored two goals and assisted another and picking up two man of the match awards from two games played suggests he has plenty to offer over the rest of the season.
Alex McCarthy has also stood out during his performances in goal for the Eagles. Bought for 3.5 million pounds from QPR, McCarthy has taken the position that has been left by veteran Julian Speroni. The game against Chelsea was his best so far, making some key saves that kept Palace in front with one spectacular double save.
Key Player
Damien Delaney has been one of the key reasons that Crystal Palace find themselves sitting in second position on the table. He has stood up against some of the key strikers for the opposition. In the win against Chelsea, Delaney stood up and kept Diego Costa fairly quiet for the entire match and even in the loss to Arsenal he did a good job keeping Olivier Giroud for having a bigger impact. Delaney also took over the captaincy this year, and the extra responsibility may be making him play better.
What has gone right?
The Palace defence has improved out of sight this year. They have played a deep defensive line where they try to prevent the opposition getting any clear opportunities in the box, used to great effect against Chelsea. Even with set pieces they have been marking up well so far only conceding two goals from set-pieces.
Where to improve?
The one area that the side needs to improve on is the finishing by their strikers. All of Palace’s goals so far this year have not come from their recognised strikers, which should be a little concerning. Connor Wickham has missed a couple of high-quality chances and missed from close range against Arsenal in a game that they lost by one goal.
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Next four games
Coming back for the international break, Palace face another tough challenge against Manchester City. Following that top of the table clash, they then travel to White Hart Lane to take on Tottenham. After a third round Capital One Cup clash with Charlton Athletic they face newly promoted Watford and then West Brom in two games they should be able to win easily before the next international break.
13th September: Crystal Palace v Manchester City
20th September: Tottenham v Crystal Palace
28th September: Watford v Crystal Palace
3rd October: Crystal Palace v West Brom
Grade – A
Based on their current position on the table and becoming only the second team to beat Chelsea at home in either of Jose Mourinho’s spells in charge, Alan Pardew and his men deserve top marks.
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