The lowdown on QPR 1 Crystal Palace 2 – Eagles make it through to last 16 after slice of Lady Luck with Eze’s strike
BY ADAM SELLS
Crystal Palace made it into the last sixteen of the EFL Cup on Tuesday night following a 2-1 win over Championship side QPR.
Here is Adam Sells’ lowdown from Loftus Road:
THE LINE-UPS
Palace: Henderson, Munoz, Lacroix, Guehi, Richards, Mitchell, Kamada (Schlupp 90), Lerma, Eze, Nketiah (Sarr 65), Mateta (Hughes 74).
Subs not used: Turner, Ward, Clyne, Wharton, Umeh, Agbinone.
QPR: Walsh, Ashby (Lloyd 68), Cook, Field, Paal, Varane, Dixon-Bonner (Dembele 45), Smyth (Andersen 81), Madsen (Dunne 81), Saito (Santos), Celar.
Subs not used: Nardi, Frey, Morgan, Bennie.
SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME
Oliver Glasner’s men looked under little pressure in the first half, but after conceding seven minutes into the second period, the contest was far more even. The visitors were thankful for a huge slice of good fortune, after Eberechi Eze’s speculative strike took a huge deflection to wrongfoot Joe Walsh in the Rangers goal.
TACTICAL APPROACH
Palace boss Glasner stuck with his trusted 3-4-2-1 formation, recalling Chris Richards on the left side of the back three, with summer signing Daichi Kamada playing in midfield alongside Jefferson Lerma.
Eddie Nketiah continued in a deeper ‘number 10’ role, and though not a familiar role, the former Arsenal striker looked sharp.
STAR MAN
Ebere Eze – a cut above every player on the pitch
BEST MOMENT
The winning goal owed much to the deflection, but the England man’s elegant turn and strong running prior meant that Lady Luck had the opportunity to shine.
MOAN OF THE MATCH
Palace’s attacking play was slow and methodical, with the team is lacking pace and thrust. The lack of unpredictability meant that their hosts were able to contain them reasonably well. In truth, QPR should never have been able to gain a foothold in the game, but Glasner’s men seem to struggle to put opponents to the sword, even when in the ascendency.
TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB
Though in the next round but Palace were far from convincing. The lack of exciting talent at the top end of the pitch is a real cause for concern. Having enjoyed Wilfried Zaha, Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze in recent seasons, only Eze remains. Without adequate replacements for the now departed Zaha and Olise, there is very little to excite within the current options.
WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY
“I think we were very pleased to win against a very aggressive QPR. “We controlled the game for a long time, scored a nice goal, had two or three more chances. “We didn’t give them anything in the first half.
“But then it is a cup game and if you don’t decide the game early enough, they always have the chance to come back into it. The equaliser came, the crowd became very loud and gain confidence. But then there was a very good reaction, scoring the second goal.”
PICTURES: ROB AVIS