Match-winner Zaha has Palace fans singing at last Carroll madness costs West Ham away win
This is what relief sounds like. Crystal Palace, seemingly marooned at the foot of the Premier League, a team who had had more managers than they had scored goals this season, as if from nowhere produced a performance of real distinction to beat champions Chelsea.
And the tumult of noise that greeted the final whistle could not have been more substantial if the European Cup had just been secured. Never has Glad All Over been sung with such meaning.
As their team had faltered across the season’s opening salvoes, Palace fans had insisted there was simple solution to their woes: all will be well when Wilfried Zaha gets fit. And you could understand their faith: the return of their talisman was what made the difference here. Full of ambition, invention and adventure, his arrival on the team sheet was like an intravenous injection of confidence. Though his manager Roy Hodgson was keen to point out he was not alone in his excellence.
“The reason we beat the champions today was not because we had Wilf Zaha, it was because we had Wilf Zaha and 10 others,” he said.
He was probably right. But there was no escaping the fact Zaha was the focal point of everything good Palace delivered. Paired with Andros Townsend in a fleet-footed front two, he began as if determined to rescue his local club single-handedly. Only two minutes had elapsed before, beautifully found by Townsend, he tried to round the entire Chelsea defence, only for Thibaut Courtois to save his final shot.
It was a telling statement of intent. And it seemed to enthuse his teammates. Palace were eager, quick, aggressive, the polar opposite of the hapless bunch who had leaked goals as the season began. Yohan Cabaye was everywhere; Luka Milivojevic, so important under Sam Allardyce and yet so unimpressive thus far this term, was snappy in the heart of midfield, even engaging in a flamboyant back heel to beat Michy Batshuayi; the back four looked obdurate and robust, like a colander that had just had its holes filled.
And it was Townsend who helped construct something the home crowd had thought had disappeared from their match day menu: an actual goal. Set free by James McArthur after just seven minutes, he cut the ball back from the byeline. As Cabaye shaped to shoot, David Luiz nipped in intending to hoof the ball away. However his attempted clearance bounced off the Frenchman’s knee, took a deflection off Cesar Azpilicueta, and left Courtois flat footed.
It was not a contender for Goal of the Season, but when the ball trickled slowly into the net in the 11th minute, Hodgson leapt from the bench, pumping his fists in triumph, proof that absence of goals makes the heart grow fonder.
“We’re Crystal Palace, we score when we like,” sang the Holmesdale End in delighted irony, their grin illuminating a grey afternoon. But Chelsea did not become champions by fading at the first. Palace ascendancy lasted only seven minutes before a corner by Cesc Fabregas found Tiemoue Bakayoko, sauntering into the area completely unattended to head into the net.
What would have pleased Hodgson, however, was that the visitors’ goal did not signal Palace capitulation. Instead of the landslide of goals that had marked their last two league fixtures, here it was the cue to step up. Driven by Zaha, Palace piled forward. And the better they played, the less effective became a Chelsea sorely missing the metronomic delivery of N’Golo Kante.
Just before half-time, Mamadou
Sakho exemplified what commitment can deliver. The centre-back bundled his way through Willian and, although seemingly never in full control of the ball, slipped a delightful pass to Zaha, who ran between Luiz and Azipilicueta before firing beyond Courtois. Zaha’s celebration was long and heartfelt.
Mainlining confidence, as the second half began Palace kept probing. Chelsea, however sharp was Fabregas’s shot that rattled the bar, looked narked that Palace had refused to roll over. This was exemplified by Batshuayi’s tetchy response on being substituted.
“Today for sure it will be very difficult for me to sleep,” said Antonio Conte, their manager. “To lose a player like Kante is not simple. The balance is very important if you want to win. Today our balance was very poor.”
A fair analysis. And the absence of Chelsea balance allowed Palace to spend much of the second half having something that had seemingly long since departed Selhurst: fun. They could even afford to see Patrick Van Aanholt miss a sitter.
As the game neared its end, Hodgson looked almost relaxed. “I’m off to Newcastle tomorrow to check out the opposition in our next game, so my wife who is accompanying me can’t say I don’t give her a good day out,” he chortled.
Finishing his press conference with a gag: things really are looking up. West Ham were undone in 99 seconds in which the red mist descended on Andy Carroll and he was dismissed trying to deliver his own retribution.
His anger seemed to have been stirred by an earlier challenge, but surely he could have known question marks would surface over his temperament as he propelled himself towards Ben Mee in the 27th minute.
Flattening the Burnley central defender, less than two minutes after being cautioned for a less serious but similar offence on James Tarkowski, amounted to negligence towards his team-mates and the opponent he recklessly endangered. It is certainly not the sort of approach that is likely to endear him to the England manager, Gareth Southgate.
With a full complement of players, Slaven Bilic’s visitors had assumed command until Carroll “ruined” their momentum and ensured that the probability of West Ham recording their first away victory this season was significantly reduced.
They have been guilty of exhibiting a certain frailty outside London. Yet despite shipping 10 goals, en route to three defeats from four on the road, there were few signs of infirmity during this full-blooded contest.
When Burnley were guilty of defensive folly, they capitalised to gain the merited lead their play warranted.
Hart’s long punt forward travelled utes. For a player of Andy’s experience, basically you can’t do that. It was a big blow for us.
“It’s very hard for such a long time to stop an opponent that has an extra player from getting in positions to put a good ball in, or to shoot from 25-yards.
“If it had stayed 1-0, it would’ve been heroic, but one moment doesn’t make it less heroic. I’m very disappointed.”
Antonio twice spurned opportunities to add a decisive second goal after the interval, and as the game drew to its conclusion, Burnley’s numerical advantage finally told.
“We deserved to get something that’s for sure,” said Burnley manager Sean Dyche, who watched Substitute Johann Berg Gudmundsson hit the woodwork before Chris Wood headed the equaliser in the 85th minute, maintaining Burnley’s best start to a Premier League campaign. 70 yards down the centre of the pitch, and when it deceived Mee, Michail Antonio’s darting run was rewarded as he flicked the ball beyond Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope to open the scoring. Then came Carroll’s crude interventions, much to Bilic’s despair. “I’m very disappointed, and angry as well,” said the West Ham manager. “We were passing the ball, we were dangerous with the ball and then we scored a goal and had that momentum. “That momentum was ruined by those bookings in the space of two min-