Eberechi Eze scored a brace to help Crystal Palace produce one of the most comfortable football results of the weekend in the Premier League. Eze’s second-half double gave the Eagles a 2-0 victory and their third consecutive Premier League victory under former England manager Hodgson, effectively ending the club’s relegation fears. Palace was the last of England’s top four divisions’ 92 teams to win a league game in 2023, but its problems under Patrick Vieira are already a distant memory. During Vieira’s reign, the 24-year-old had been a peripheral character, with his reintroduction to Palace’s starting XI coinciding with the team’s turnaround in form.
Eze was the star turn, scoring from close range after Gavin Bazunu parried Jordan Ayew’s cross into his path in the 54th minute to break the deadlock. If his first goal was intuitive, Eze’s second came in the 68th minute, when he received Cheick Doucoure’s ball and danced away from Moussa Djenepo before past Bazunu from 25 yards to clinch the win. The result improves Palace to 36 points, nine points are clear of the relegation zone, while Southampton looks destined for the Championship, still four points short of safety with seven games remaining.
Palace had been in disarray before Hodgson was persuaded to return for a second stint at Selhurst Park following Vieira’s dismissal. When Hodgson returned, the Eagles were just three points clear of the bottom three, on a 12-match losing streak and without a victory in 2023. Consecutive triumphs, including a surprise 5-1 win against Leeds, propelled them to the south coast six points clear of the bottom three. In the first 45 minutes, they lacked the flow that had marked their previous successes, with Michael Olise’s disallowed goal – which had been set up by Jordan Ayew – being as lively as it got from the visitors.
Saints, on the other hand, had exhibited indications of life. Joe Aribo, making his first appearance since New Year’s Eve, raced onto Theo Walcott’s pass from a superb James Ward-Prowse corner but blasted wide. When Walcott sliced a finish against the outside of the post, he should have done much better. Everything changed after the intermission when Palace was offered assistance. When Ayew collected the ball on the left flank, there looked to be little danger, but after his cross was clutched at by Bazunu, the lively Eze pounced and hit the net.
The heads of those in red and white fell, and Eze punished the hosts midway through the second quarter. Djenepo was prepared with a modest drop of the shoulder, but the finish was deadly, low, and hard beyond Bazunu. Southampton responded briefly when Carlos Alcaraz curled a shot against the inside of Sam Johnstone’s post, while the Palace custodian kept his clean sheet with a fantastic stop to deny defender Armel Bella-Kotchap’s thunderous effort, but it was all from distance. Palace was not done, as Ayew squandered a golden opportunity before Olise’s free-kick mercifully clipped the post in stoppage time. The Saints appear to be doomed; Hodgson’s red and blue army is on the move.
“We’re unhappy that we didn’t win the game. We performed effectively in the first half but did not maintain the same pace in the second. We gave up the opening goal and began to make mistakes. We were unable to recover after the second goal,” Southampton boss Ruben Selles said. “I saw a squad that was together in the first half, and we were trying to think swiftly in circumstances, but we couldn’t match the tempo. When we fall behind, we are in a race to catch up. Those are the tough situations that we must manage better as a team. They show me how they can play every day [during training]. We simply need to be more consistent in our actions.”
“At halftime, all we do is remind folks of what we pledged to do from the outset. However, goals change the game. They put us in a commanding position, allowing us to play the football we desired. We had two or three more chances to score. If Southampton had scored when they hit the post, it would have created for a thrilling final ten minutes that I could have done without!” Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson said.
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