EZE
SELHURST PARK is the place to come for the harsh realities of football – as Marcelo Bielsa discovered to his cost.
SELH HURST
com me footb ball disco overed t
Fantastic, Fan ntast i frenetic and entertaining enter rtaining this no holds barred contest cont test may ma have been, but try telling tellin ng that to t the White Army back in Yorkshire. Yoorkshire
The Th he good news is that in terms of endeavour, endea avour, attitude a and desire, the Argentinian’s Argen ntinian’s men were more than a match h for the hosts.
But t in terms term of naivete – dear me. Eagles s manager manag Roy Hodgson could not have hhave chosen c more willing opponents oppon nents if he had sat down with a pen n and pencil p beforehand and drew up uup a wi wish-list.
It was wwas the second defeat by this scoreline inside a week following the nightmare at Elland Road last Monday against Leicester City.
And this was similar.
Canny opponents with a little too much quality for comfort, picking off the visitors.
“The performance in the last game wasn’t satisfactory,” said Bielsa.
“It left a lot of space for criticism. This game had other characteristics.
“Collectively, individually and in all other aspects.
“The defeat was fair but the scoreline was exaggerated. These defeats are complicated.
“When there’s two in a row, it increases your difficulties.
“If, for a second game, we concede four goals and score one, that’s a harsh reality.”
It crackled from the off and injected with life from the moment
Scott Dann’s scruffy 12th-minute header gave Palace the lead.
Then came the first major talking point.
Patrick Bamford’s hot streak looked set to continue as he pointed to colleague Mateusz Klich where he wanted the ball delivered. It arrived and the in-form striker dinked the ball into the net.
VAR checked it and the forward’s arm – yes, his arm – had broken the line. Bamford wasn’t happy after the final whistle.
“I don’t understand the rule,” he said.
“It’s happened with me today but I’ve seen it on numerous occasions. It’s ruining football.
“You want to see goals. To have it ruled out for something like that is daft. Even the referee couldn’t make sense of it. When the players and the
officials can’t make sense of it – does it make sense?”
Leeds’ anger was compounded minutes later.
The visitors were incensed that a ball wasn’t kicked out of play to allow for an injury.
Robin Koch upended Eberechi Eze and the close-season £16million signing from QPR lifted a lovely free-kick into the net via the crossbar.
It was a moment of quality. And Bamford supplied one to draw Leeds back into it within two minutes, converting after Klich headed the ball on to him.
The forward slyly looked over at the assistant before returning for the restart. The moment that earned
Palace breathing space arrived just before the break.
Patrick van Aanholt’s energetic run down the right ended with a cross that diverted into the net via Helder Costa’s deflection.
Bielsa’s battlers threw the proverbial kitchen sink at it in an attempt to rescue the situation but when Pascal Struijk missed a header from point-blank range shortly after the interval, their chances reduced.
It was left to Wilfried Zaha to lead Leeds’ defence a merry dance with just over a quarter of the game to play. He threaded a ball into the area from the left. It bypassed several defenders, landing at Jordan Ayew’s feet, the latter finishing off the inside of the post.
It was the first time Palace had scored four goals in two-and-a-half years.
Hodgson was delighted and said: “It was a highly-competitive game. We played well and were good value for our victory.
“It was a good win against a team that has started so well and has a style of play that is different to what we are used to seeing.”
On Eze, who just edged out Zaha as the game’s most outstanding player, he said: “It was a perfect freekick. I don’t think any keeper would have stopped it.
“It was right to unleash him and he lived up to all my expectations.
“He’s going to stand this football club in good stead for years to come.”
I don’t understand. You can’t score with your arm. It doesn’t make sense. It’s ruining football. You want to see goals