Four takeaways from Crystal Palace’s 1-0 loss at Forest – tactical switches fail to deliver and Vieira needs to get more out of attacking talent
Crystal Palace finished their Premier League duties until Boxing Day with a 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest yesterday.
Here are Adam Sells’ takeaways from the match.
A WEEK IS A LONG TIME IN FOOTBALL
After a fantastic victory at London Stadium things were set up perfectly for Palace in the final week before the World Cup break.
An EFL Cup visit to Newcastle United and a trip to bottom of the table Nottingham Forest in the next six days. With it, the potential to end the first part of the season in the last 16 of the cup and in the top eight of the table with eyes on European football.
Fast forward a week and the Eagles are out of the cup, with the manager’s decision to rest key players ahead of a pointless trip to the City Ground having backfired.
It was a dismal afternoon in Nottingham, with positives in short supply as the visitors struggled to find any kind of rhythm in an intoxicating atmosphere.
As the minutes passed the Palace performance deteriorated and when referee John Brooks’ final whistle brought proceedings to a close, the Eagles had failed to register a single shot on target against a team that had the second-worst defensive record in the Premier League.
It was such a bad afternoon, that even the mercurial Wilfried Zaha missed the target from the penalty spot, the only real clear sight of goal Patrick Vieira’s men had in the game.
The scruffy nature of the goal conceded, with Morgan Gibbs-White’s close-range finish looking clearly offside at first glance, only to be awarded following a VAR review just added to the pain.
It was a scrappy game with few opportunities for either side, that, in truth should probably ended goalless, but Palace could and should have been much better.
NO WAY THROUGH
So why was Dean Henderson in the Forest goal so underemployed?
Vieira changed his team’s shape four times during the 90 minutes. Unusually the Palace boss opted to start with 4-2-3-1 with Jeffery Schlupp sitting alongside Cheick Doucoure, before changing to the more familiar 4-1-2-3, then 3-5-2, before reverting to the initial 4-2-3-1.
Some may say that Vieira demonstrated tactical flexibility and tried everything possible, however critics might counter that it was all rather desperate as Palace failed to get a real foothold in the game and represented no more than a continual rolling of the dice.
Whether Palace were out-thought or out-fought, it would be fair to say that Vicente Guaita in the visitors’ goal was not overworked, but Forest’s aggressive high-energy approach certainly ruffled the Eagles’ feathers.
STICK OR TWIST?
Vieira opted to use all five substitutes during the game, but none of the changes made any impact.
Perhaps the most surprising of all was the choice to leave the in-form Odsonne Edouard, who had recovered from injury to take his place on the Palace bench, still sat there when Vieira withdraw Jordan Ayew in the 59th minute in favour of Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Mateta, who had turned in an erratic and unconvincing display during the week at St James’ Park, barely got a touch.
It may have been that the Palace staff may have seen his physicality as a way into the game.
The big centre-forward may be 6ft 3ins in height but did not win a single aerial duel and staggeringly touched the ball just three times in the 36 minutes he spent on the pitch.
Edouard was finally introduced five minutes from time but like Mateta, Joel Ward, Will Hughes and Malcom Ebiowei before him, he was unable to change the picture.
It’s hard to recall a game this season when making so many changes has worked for Palace. Vieira could rightly say that he doesn’t have enough quality to change games at his disposal and his squad is very much in need of some high-class additions if the Eagles are to push on.
FIRING TOO MANY BLANKS
What is inarguable is that Palace manager has an array of attacking talent to work with, possibly the best Palace have had during their 10-year stint in the top-flight.
The likes of Zaha, Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Edouard are greatly admired and it is Vieira’s task to find the right solutions in terms shape and personnel. With players of this calibre, Palace should not be going to a newly-promoted side at the foot of the table and struggling to find a way to create chances.
A quick revision of the form away from Selhurst doesn’t make great reading for those of a Palace persuasion.
Last weekend’s victory at West Ham United was the only win on the road this season. Most alarmingly (should you include the midweek cup tie), that game represents the only time Palace have hit the back of the net in six attempts against Premier League opposition on their travels.
With the six weeks break now upon us, there will be plenty for Vieira to stew on as he attempts to find the winning formula.