Burnley 0 Crystal Palace 2
Burnley welcomed Crystal Palace to Turf Moor as The Clarets tried to finally get a win at home after five straight defeats. Vincent Kompany knows that his side need to start picking up points if they are to have any hope of Premier League survival this season.
Kompany’s side peppered the Palace box with crosses in the early stages and as one such ball found Amdouni unmarked at the far post, he headed harmlessly wide of the goal when he really should be putting such a chance away.
Roy Hodgson’s side played a long ball forward which Beyer struggled to deal with as he looked to see if a pass was on back to Trafford before Ayew dispossessed him and ran down the touchline, opening the Burnley defence up.
The Palace striker then passed it across the box which was met by the foot of the sliding Jeffrey Schlupp to turn the ball in and silence the home fans. Yet again Burnley paid the price for not asserting their dominance and turning possession into goals.
Credit: @CPFC
As they looked to get back into the game, a cross found the head of Gudmundsson but his downward header struck the outside of the post and went wide. That effort pretty much summed up Burnley’s start to the Premier League campaign.
Koleosho received a quickly-taken free kick in the dying moments of the first half but Johnstone opted to punch clear to ensure he was not embarrassed by the swerving effort. This was as close as the hosts had come to scoring.
The Clarets started the second half in positive mood and as Gudmundsson got to the near post to meet a cross, he tried to be too intricate with his finish and ball went well wide without even needing a save from the Palace keeper.
Brownhill then tried his luck to draw his side level but Johnstone was equal to it as he tipped the ball over. The resulting corner called the Palace keeper into action once again but he was able to punch the ball clear.
As Burnley tried to throw everything at the visitors, a hooked clearance led to the ball being worked to Eze who held it up well, before laying the ball off to Mitchell. He drilled his shot past Trafford and into the bottom corner.
The Premier League can often be a game of fine margins but Crystal Palace showed their experience as they picked off their opponents, despite being under immense pressure for the majority of the game.
Credit: @CPFC
Vincent Kompany was again left wondering what he has to do to get his side firing on all cylinders. They have scored the fewest goals in the league so far and unless their luck changes soon, you wonder whether even the goals of Erling Haaland could keep them up.
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