Selhurst Park was the setting for Saturday’s clash between two sides looking to really get their seasons going, as two old foes met for the third time in competitive matches in their managerial career.
Only two places and three points separated Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace and Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa in the Premier League standings last season, and both managers will have been eyeing up a top half finish this time around.
The former Arsenal star had overseen a disappointing opening day defeat against his former club, before drawing with Liverpool, despite a strong showing and a red card to the Red’s striker Darwin Núñez. Liverpool legend Gerrard, on the other hand, sat one point higher after bouncing back from an abject Bournemouth display to beat a timid Everton side.
In the two previous meetings between the Premier League legends, it was the Englishman who narrowly edged procedures, with a 2-1 win in South London last year and a draw in the Second City.
With both managers and their respective clubs looking to kick on and lay down a marker against a potential rival for the season.
Palace made one change from their draw in Merseyside. A shift in formation saw defender Nathaniel Clyne replaced by former Celtic forward Odsonne Édouard as a defensive five at the back structure gave way to a fluid 4-3-3.
For Villa, the nightmare of a serious injury to Diego Carlos became a reality with the confirmation that the defender had suffered a ruptured achilles last week. Ezri Konsa regained his place in the side in the absence of the Brazilian star, whilst Danny Ings and Philippe Coutinho were dropped to the bench in favour of Leon Bailey and Emi Buendía. Whilst there had been some concern for both Ings and Coutinho, with the former playing through an ankle injury and the latter hobbling off against Everton, both were fit and Gerrard suggested the changes were to offer a more direct and pacey threat away from home.
This decision looked to have been vindicated early on. Bailey’s clever run drew Palace defenders Tyrick Mitchell and Marc Guéhi out of position and he was picked out accurately by Tyrone Mings. The Jamaican forward spotted Watkins, who had darted away from his marker and into the space vacated by Guéhi. The flick-on was superb and Watkins steadied himself before rifling past the despairing fluorescent figure of Guaita.
The visitors looked to turn the screw, but in doing so they offered their opponents the chance to draw level. A Villa attack culminated with Buendía being bundled over in the box. The referee waved away the Argentinian’s complaints and play continued. A direct ball looked to find Édouard, but the French striker could not bring the ball under his spell. His miscontrolled poke did, however, catch Konsa out who had gambled on cutting the ball off before it reached Wilfried Zaha. Instead, a stretching Édouard inadvertently set Zaha away after getting goal-side of the marauding Matty Cash.
Just as it looked as if Konsa may have recovered well enough to push the Ivorian trickster out wide, Zaha fired a wonderfully placed left footed shot into the corner to restore parity. Whilst just one minute had separated Villa’s second goal and Everton’s riposte, the Zaha finish came two minutes after Watkins had opened the scoring.
If Villa are to have success this year, game management and concentration levels will need to be far better in the coming months. At the moment goals are coming at terrible times in the match, both early on and late in the day against Bournemouth, and then straight after finding the net against Everton and Palace.
After such a positive start then, Villa found themselves level and on the back foot. The home side began to grow in confidence and the creative force that is Ebere Eze and his skilful team mate Zaha began to cause problems down the left hand side. John McGinn, Ezri Konsa and Matty Cash all struggled with the fluid movement, clever link-up play and direct running of Palace’s attacking charges.
For all of the Eagle’s nice build-up play, it was a set piece that looked to have turned the match around. From a free kick on the Palace left, two players peeled off at the back post whilst Édouard arced his run towards the front post. As has often been the case with Villa, the clever attacking movements were not met with organisation or foresight and Édouard picked up a clipped pass.He rolled the ball across goal and with the aid of a deflection, Schlupp gained possession. The midfielder finished well and sent Selhurst Park wild. The joy was short-lived as a VAR check showed that Palace’s French striker had gone too early and was offside. Such anxiety and confusion from yet another set-piece will leave fans concerned, particularly with the role of set-piece coach Austin MacPhee, with Villa looking likely to concede at every deadball situation.
After receiving this lifeline, Villa should have kicked on, but the forward three could not get onto the ball with any degree of consistency or in potent positions often enough, largely because of Palace’s midfield dominance. Much like against Bournemouth, Gerrard’s side looked ponderous in possession, although Palace did offer up space to exploit at times. One such moment came shortly after first Jordan Ayew and then Cheick Doucouré missed good opportunities and Villa countered down the right hand side. A rare flowing move saw Cash bombard down the wing, his cross picked out Buendía who fired low and hard but his effort could not beat Guaita.
At half time, Villa were level and had shown that they could cause Palace problems on occasion, although some pedestrian passing and uncomfortable defending meant the hosts would have been the happier of the two sides. The Eagles will have taken a lot of heart from the regularity that Eze and Zaha were getting past their counterparts, whilst Vieira’s side also seemed to have a bit more of a bite in the tackle.
As the second half commenced, Palace continued to grow as the dominant force in the game. Villa could have hit the front once more, however, when Bailey tormented Mitchell before unleashing a curling effort. His left-footed strike cannoned off the ball and the home side eventually cleared. The reprieve spurred Palace back into life and widemen Ayew and Zaha tormented Villa’s full backs.
There was a sense that a goal was coming for the side in red and blue, although the manner in which it did will have been a surprise to many. Eze hung a corner up at the back post and Guéhi rose highest to head back across goal. His header flicked the hand of an unsighted Lucas Digne. The much deliberated awarding of the penalty summed up much of Digne’s time at Villa thus far. It was completely unintentional and unavoidable but the penalty had to be awarded according to the letter of law. Digne is a superb player and has shown glimpses of both his attacking and defensive prowess, but he has had an enormous portion of bad luck since his January move.
Martínez, as Villa fans will have become accustomed to, made an incredible stop to keep out the penalty from Zaha, but the Palace talisman had a simple job in rolling in the rebound. The Villa stopper will have felt hugely disappointed after making what was a truly remarkable save.
The South London side killed the game late on after a well worked move down the left. Mitchell got away from Cash, after the Polish international and Ezri Konsa had both been caught ball watching once again. The cross was sumptuous and substitute Mateta found space between Mings and Digne to fire home the clincher. The game petered out to its conclusion as the home fans revelled in the London sunshine and a first victory of the season.
Patrick Vieira continues to impress with his dynamic, aggressive young side who play high octane, attractive football and get their key men on the ball in the areas that they can do maximum damage. They have a distinct style of play and players who are fully committed to play that way. Steven Gerrard, on the other hand, still feels like he has not quite put his stamp on the side yet. Of course, the injury to Diego Carlos will not have helped just as he was looking settled in the backline.
The signing of the dangerous forward Ismaïla Sarr is imminent and fans have debated the extent to which this will improve the side. Whilst there is no doubt he is a great player, there is a sense amongst some that a midfielder to accompany Kamara is more of a pressing issue, as is bringing in another defender on a short-term deal to replace the injured Carlos. But there is no doubt that Sarr is an upgrade on previous wide forwards, such as El Ghazi, Trézéguet and Bertrand Traoré, whilst it could also signal a change in focus from the much used 4-3-1-2 that has seen an attacking midfielder sat in behind Watkins and Ings, with a formation involving two inside forwards cutting in either side of a lone striker.
Johan Lange and Steven Gerrard are no doubt working overtime behind the scenes to complete the Sarr deal, as well as in recruiting another central defender and a midfielder. There will be outgoings too and with these three likely incomings, Villa will no doubt be a better squad by the time the transfer window slams shut. But the results and style of play must improve, especially with a tough run of fixtures which include West Ham, Arsenal and Man City.
The first of those, against a West Ham side who are yet to get firing this season, is particularly crucial. David Moyes’ side have plenty of quality but have struggled with creating and taking chances thus far and have been ravaged by defensive injuries. The panic which has just begun to set in amongst fans is completely valid, results and performances have been below par for some time now, but a midweek cup fixture with Bolton and next Sunday’s claret and blue battle provides the club with a chance to get the season firmly back on track.
Fans will look for a clearer identity in possession, improvement in dealing with set pieces, the right balance to be struck in midfield and a greater resilience to avoid conceding at damaging times in the game. If, and at the moment it feels quite a big if, these are established in the coming weeks and with the addition of a couple of quality players, things can improve quickly at Villa Park, and the early season concerns can quickly be extinguished. But this must start immediately to hang on to the coat-tails of the other impressive mid-table sides such as Palace and Brighton.
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