The lowdown on Crystal Palace 1 Ipswich 0 – Sarr the star man as Eagles’ impressive Premier League form continues

Crystal Palace secured a third straight Premier League win with Ismaila Sarr’s second-half goal settling their home game against struggling Ipswich Town.

Here is the lowdown on the match.

THE LINE-UPS

Crystal Palace: Henderson, Munoz, Lacroix, Guehi, Richards, Mitchell (Chilwell 71), Wharton (Devenny 87), Lerma, Eze (Esse 90+2), Sarr, Nketiah (Kamada 72). Subs not used: Turner, Franca, Rodney, Kporha.
Ipswich Town: Palmer, Davis, Woolfenden, Phillips, Enciso (Broadhead 75), Cajuste (Taylor 84), Delap (Hirst 84), Greaves, O’Shea, Philogene (Johnson 67), Clarke (Hutchinson 67). Subs not used: Walton, Morsy, Burgess, Townsend.

SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME

Palace finished the match with an xG from open play of 2.32 (Ipswich’s was 0.56) with both Eddie Nketiah and Daniel Munoz failing to take big chances – Ipswich keeper Alex Palmer saving on both occasions. But they finally made the breakthrough late on with an excellent goal by Ismaila Sarr. Sarr showed excellent pace to surge into the right of the penalty area but then also a delicate and measured touch to life the ball over Palmer and into the net. It’s not like Ipswich didn’t have chances – Dean Henderson made seven saves – but they lacked the quality of the ones that the hosts created.

TACTICAL APPROACH

Four changes were made by Oliver Glasner with Dean Henderson restored between the posts with Adam Wharton and Tyrick Mitchell coming in for Will Hughes and Ben Chilwell. The enforced change was Eddie Nketiah for Jean-Philippe Mateta, absent due to the ear damage he suffered against Millwall in the FA Cup. Nketiah looked frustrated when he was replaced by Daichi Kamada in the 72nd minute but the ex-Arsenal man struggled to make an impact. Sarr then shifted through the middle as the main striker.

STAR MAN

Ismaila Sarr. Not only the matchwinner but also made a key contribution down the other end when he cleared off his own goal-line to keep out Jaden Philogene’s attempt to force the ball home after Henderson produced a spillage. Also unlucky with a header from a corner which dropped wide of the far post.

BEST MOMENT

Sarr’s goal. In an error-strewn game it needed someone to show a bit of composure and quality. The 27-year-old did that and was rewarded with his eighth goal of the season. The celebration – copying Mateta’s trademark kick of the corner flag – was a nice touch too.

MOAN OF THE MATCH

Some of the poor passing on show. Even the likes of Eberechi Eze struggled at times and the Palace number 10 cheaply gifted possession to Jack Clarke when the game was still a stalemate but luckily the pass to Liam Delap was slightly behind the Ipswich striker, who had to reset before sending his shot straight at Henderson.

A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB

Palace’s form. Which is very, very good. Twenty-two points in their last 10 matches in the Premier League is a total that is only matched by Liverpool. And only seven goals conceded in that period – the fewest along with Arsenal.

WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY

“It is three Premier League wins in a row and four wins in a row in all competitions – all the credit to the players, they are really working hard. Now we have the chance to breathe a little bit because we have three weeks with no competitive game. It is for us to use these three weeks to be in the best shape for the crunch time of the season.”