Crystal Palace 3 Brentford 1
Crystal Palace went into this game against Brentford desperate for a win after their recent run of bad form had seen them slide towards the bottom three. Manager Roy Hodgson was coming under real pressure as talk of the potential of Steve Cooper replacing him surfaced.
Who would have thought that having a 76-year-old managing a team in the Premier League wasn’t the best model for success. Having been born in the years just after the fall of Germany’s Third Reich, changing The Eagles’ fortunes seemed just as big of a task as Operation Overlord.
Hodgson’s biggest nemesis at this time of his life should be a cold snap or black ice but there he was watching Brentford start on the front foot. Roerslev crossed into the box and Lewis-Potter met it on the volley to put The Bees ahead with less than 90 seconds of the game played.
When Crystal Palace have both Olise and Eze on the pitch, they can cause problems for any team in this league. Ayew and Olise exchanged crossfield passes before the Ghanaian picked out the Palace winger on the back post.
Credit: @CPFC
Olise fired his shot into the top corner of the goal with a fantastic finish to send Selhurst Park into raptures. If The Eagles want to secure their top-flight status for seasons to come, holding onto Olise could be the best piece of business they do in any transfer window.
Jensen was pulling all the strings in the middle of the park for the visitors and he clipped a ‘no-look’ pass over the top of the Palace defence for Roerslev and his inch perfect pass found Lewis-Potter on the back post again. This time the young midfielder could not apply the finish as Henderson saved.
Ghoddos clipped a ball into the box and Collins got his head to it but could not keep his effort on target, with Henderson rooted to the spot. It was a big chance for Thomas Frank’s side to take the lead in the game once again.
For the first 39 minutes of this game, you could be forgiven for wondering what Eberechi Eze was up to this afternoon. Then someone in the crowd must have said his name three times and he appeared like Beetlejuice to put Palace in front against the run of play.
Pinnock then played the most overhit pass you have seen as it would have counted for a sound shot on target for anyone in a Man Utd top. Fortunately for Brentford, Flekken managed to react and get back to clear the ball.
The second half was much like the first with it being a very even affair but the difference between the two sides was to be the clinical finishing of The Eagles’ wingers. Olise cut inside the box, onto his left foot, and slotted the ball past Flekken to give Palace a two goal lead.
Credit: @CPFC
Olise, Mateta and Eze combined well to work another shooting opportunity but Flekken did well to block the English winger’s effort. Palace were playing some free-flowing football and Hodgson seemed to come to life like he had resurfaced in the present, realising where he was.
Neal Maupay nearly got his side back into the game as he struck a shot from some range, only to see it rebound off the crossbar and back into play. The woodwork was still shaking as the ball was crossed into the box and Wissa skied his shot over the goal.
Henderson was forced into action one more time as he channelled his inner David Seaman to claw an effort out of the top corner to ensure that The Eagles held on for all three points and bring their poor run of form to an end. Palace moved six points clear of the bottom three with the win. More worryingly, it left Brentford only four points ahead of Luton Town.
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