Crystal Palace 2-0 Sheffield United – Wonderful Eze effort enough to hand Eagles a first win in six matches

BY SAM SMITH

A stunning solo goal by Ebere Eze helped Crystal Palace win for the first time in six matches as they defeated Sheffield United 2-0 at Selhurst Park.

The midfielder received the ball deep inside his own half and glided beyond several challenges before finding the corner of the goal.

The win further eases the pressure on Palace boss Roy Hodgson. His side finally seem to have turned a corner since 7-0 and 3-0 defeats against Liverpool and Aston Villa respectively.

And the Eagles made the perfect start in South London. Christian Benteke threaded Jeffrey Schlupp into the penalty area and the onrushing Ghanaian fired Palace ahead via a deflection inside four minutes.

There was some worry for Hodgson when Schlupp was forced off clutching his hamstring 10 minutes prior to half-time. They also lost Benteke to a dead leg early in the second half.

But it was Schlupp’s replacement, Eze, who produced the most memorable moment of a game otherwise devoid of much quality.

McArthur’s clearance was picked up by the 22-year-old well inside his own half. He dropped his shoulder to move away from Ollie Norwood.

A quick jink put him beyond a desperate challenge by Ethan Ampadu before he bore down on the edge of the penalty area. His whipped finish beyond Aaron Ramsdale found the corner of the net.

Most pleasing for the coaching staff will be that this was a first clean sheet since the opening day win over Southampton. Chris Wilder’s side barely threatened and looked every bit the side that has just two points from their opening 17 matches.

Joel Ward blocked a goal-bound effort from the 16-year-old debutant Antwoine Hackford. But otherwise this was a far more solid performance than had been seen in recent games.