Crystal Palace scores big turnaround
Team lost seven to start season, but has dropped only one game in its last 12 matches
One of the big stories of this Premier League season has been the turnaround at Crystal Palace under Roy Hodgson, who took over in September.
Hodgson was named manager just four games into the season, and while his impact wasn’t immediate, by late November the results were starting to show. After opening with seven straight losses, Palace has climbed to 12th place while suffering only one defeat in the team’s last 12 league games.
That loss was a 3-2 decision to Arsenal three weeks ago at Selhurst Park. On Saturday, we have the rematch at the Emirates, although Palace hasn’t won there since 1994.
A key player for Palace is winger Wilfried Zaha. The 25-year-old Ivory Coast native has spent most of his career at the club, after making his debut there as a teen. He did have an unsuccessful stint with Manchester United a few years ago before returning to Palace. Zaha has been terrorizing opposition defenders, which is a problem for the Gunners who have Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal on the injured list.
Another player doing well is Bakary Sako, who has earned a starting spot and scored some big goals recently. Sako is normally a winger, but if he keeps on scoring, a more central role could be his.
At Arsenal, Theo Walcott has just left to join Everton, and it looks like Alexis Sanchez could be going to Manchester United soon. The rumour is the Sanchez deal will go through if Arsenal can sign United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan in exchange.
Game on
Serie A resumes play from its winter break Sunday, starting with league-leaders Napoli away to seventh-place Atalanta.
Atalanta isn’t a typical Italian team. Under coach Gian Piero Gasperini, the team plays a very aggressive, high-intensity 3-4-3 formation, with most of the attacking down the flanks.
A key player is young attacking midfielder Bryan Cristante, who leads the team in scoring. The 22-year-old made his debut for Italy last October, which was bad news for Canadian fans. Up to that point, Cristante was eligible to play for Canada through his father.
Another big game Sunday has Inter Milan hosting Roma in the battle for third place. Both teams have been struggling to score, which is good news for Lazio, which is also in the mix. Three points separate the three teams.
It’s a knockout
The League Cup semifinals conclude next week. On Tuesday, Bristol City hosts Manchester City, trailing 2-1 from the first leg, while on Wednesday it’s Chelsea at Arsenal, with that series goalless.
In the first meeting, Bristol City showed little fear against the league-leaders, attacking the Manchester giants to good success. Only an injury-time goal from Sergio Aguero saved the home side from embarrassment.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp then seemed to take a page from Bristol’s playbook in the Red’s amazing 4-3 win over Manchester City Sunday. Liverpool attacked the visitors relentlessly and had City unnerved. Manchester City is still by far the best team in Britain, but the Sky Blues aren’t invincible and it’s nice to see them reminded of that.
The friendly coach
Former Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs was named coach of his native Wales this week in a decision some Welsh fans aren’t happy with. Giggs has almost no managerial experience, and in his playing days was criticized for putting club before country.
While Giggs played 64 times for his country, he missed 30 of 40 Wales friendly matches. Most of the blame for that can be placed on United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, but a lot of Welsh fans still feel Giggs’ dedication to his homeland was lacking. The joke now making the rounds is to ask who will coach Wales for its friendlies, as Giggs won’t show up.
Another former Wales international is Whitecaps FC coach Carl Robinson, and there was some speculation he might be in the running for the Wales job. Welsh stars Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale publicly backed Robinson, but Robbo says he was never approached by the Welsh FA and is very happy in Vancouver.