Crystal Palace takedown Chelsea, West Ham in EPL! Crystal Palace have had to play an on-slaught of monster clubs to start this Premier League season, and this home match against Chelsea was no different. They lost to them in the Carabao Cup but that was with a B-team side at best, now all the stars would be playing. It did not take very long for the Eagles to put their imprint on this game at home, with a brilliant 1-2 being played by Benteke and Sørloth. After being fed a pass by Townsend, Benteke shuffled the ball to Sørloth who gave it back to him in the box. David Luiz had over-run his marked man and Benteke powered up and shot... BANG! INTO THE BACK OF THE NET PAST WILLY CABALLERO! 1-0 Crystal Palace! The home supporters roared with excitement, the match against Manchester City proved Palace were capable of such an upset. Sadly, that bright moment would only last for 4 minutes, as in the 18th minute Chelsea responded. On a corner, Eden Hazard whipped in a ball near-post to Olivier Giroud, and Sørloth over-whelmed could not defend it. Giroud took a masterful strike on goal that honestly should have been saved by Axel Werner whiffed on it. 1-1 dead draw through the first 20 minutes now.
That did not mean that Crystal Palace stopped pressing though. In the 40th minute, Yves Bissouma maneuvered some space away from N'Golo Kante and fired a shot that WENT OFF THE POST! Benteke scrambled to it with Caballero on the ground, OH BUT HE GETS BUMPED BY AZIPLICUETA! PENALTY! Yes, a penalty was given for that infraction as Azpi did push Benteke to the ground. Benteke himself would step up for the shot but despite his menacing presence, he put forth a rather meager effort and it was saved by Caballero. Still stuck at a 1-1 draw, Crystal Palace may have just had that opportunity slip.... until Yves Bissouma took it right back. Right before halftime in the 45th minute, Christian Benteke moved around in the box and held onto the ball, yet he passed it to the bottom half to Andros Townsend. Knowing that he could play risky, Yves Bissouma came up and had acres of space in front of him because 3-men were marking Sølorth since it was nearing the end of the half and they figured a cross would be whipped in. Without even taking a touch, Bissouma reved up and fired... BAAANG! OFF THE POST AND IN! RIDICULOUS! HOW DOES THIS KID KEEP DOING IT!?!? David Luiz and Andres Christensen both made a desperate attempt to block but it was too late. Bissouma had just gifted Crystal Palace the lead right before halftime, and it would be 2-1 entering the break!
It should come as no surprise that from here on out, Crystal Palace went defensive. They brought out a 5-at-the-back formation and Lucien LeClair brought on Tomkins for Yohan Cabaye. Bissouma would continue to dominate the midfield, and after having 5 shots in the 1st half, Chelsea finished the match with 0 shots in the 2nd half.
Crystal Palace had won, 2-1! Just a brilliant 1st half and then master-class defensively to finish it off in the final 45 minutes. Yves Bissouma earned MOTM honors with a 9.2 rating as he continues to develop into one of the best players at this club. One notable thing about Chelsea? Willian was held to a 6.2 rating and was fairly useless, and Chelsea's two main midfielders in Kante and Fabregas were subpar by their standards. Bissouma also completed all 32 of his attempted passes and had numerous successful dribbles. It's not a joke to say this kid has the potential to be one of the best midfielders in the world anymore. Without him, you could absolutely say that Crystal Palace would have lost this match. Instead, they now have 11 points through 8 matches in the Prem!
(Match #9 of PL) vs West Ham(PLAYED 2 of 2): This may have just been Crystal Palace's best match from start to finish. Early on, they were pelting West Ham's Adrian in goal with shot after shot, from a 4th minute thunderbolt by Benteke to a key stop on a Bissouma longshot in the 28th minute. Eventually though, they found their way through. Off of a corner from that Bissouma longshot, Wilfried Zaha crossed the ball to Benteke with Mark Noble and James Collins marking him but it was not enough. Benteke got brilliant strength underneath his header, while Sam Byram did his best to deflect it from going in he nearly bumped it into Adrian's diving hand and it was a goal for Crystal Palace in the 29th minute! From there, Crystal Palace would continue to maintain control for the remainder of the match, with close misses and multiple post hits throughout. The best chance for Wesy Ham came in the 56th minute when Werner deflected the ball right into the path of Arthur Masuaku, but he bolted the ball over the net out for a goal kick! A second Crystal Palace goal came in the dying minutes when all of West Ham's defenders were forward, Sølorth broke away and buried one into the far right hand corner of the net.
Crystal Palace had won 2-0! West Ham United did not generate a single shot on target, and many of their players performed quite woefully with the exception of Adrian who had 9 saves and earned a 7.1 rating. Wilfried Zaha won MOTM though he didn't score a goal because he had a key assist and was overall quite solid on the day.
2017 October Summary: It was a pretty phenomenal month for Crystal Palace. They won both of their Premier League matches and have won 4 of their last 5 now if you go back to September. At the end of the month, they are in 7th place with 9 matches and 14 points, though it should be noted that a number of teams have 10 matches played already! In terms of ratings, Christian Benteke has produced a 7.40 rating in premier league matches and has 4 goals in 9 games, while Wilfried Zaha has generated 3 goals and 3 assists in 9 matches worthy of a 7.50 rating. Still, neither of them can compare with Yves Bissouma who has produced the best rating of all with 8.10 through 7 matches including 2 goals and 1 assist while being apart of 3 clean sheets. In terms of improvements that can be made to the squad, there are no complaints right now. Axel Werner has to do better in some spots but he's incredibly young, and Lucien LeClair has stated he has been very happy with the fullback play thus far. In terms of center backs? That could be an area to improve since Sakho has had his fair share of mistakes. The month of November is sure to be hectic since there are 5 matches scheduled, and that doesn't even compare with the matches in December. But at this rate, let's just take it one day at a time!