Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth. Premier League.
Selhurst ParkAttendance23,497.
Report and free highlights as Mamadou Sakho was sent off for Crystal Palace inside 20 minutes
Wednesday 4 December 2019 06:45, UK
Bournemouth lost their fourth Premier League game in a row as they were beaten 1-0 by 10-man Crystal Palace, who themselves move into fifth ahead of the remaining midweek games.
The game could not have started worse for the Eagles as Mamadou Sakho was sent off in the 19th minute after catching Adam Smith on the knee with a high foot, before Patrick van Aanholt was taken off with an injury not long after.
Chances were at a premium for much of the Selhurst Park encounter, but it was a moment of magic from Jeffrey Schlupp in the 76th minute - firing home after a wonderful solo run from midfield - that secured a second successive Premier League victory for the hosts.
But for Bournemouth, they have now lost their fourth consecutive league game and stay in 12th with 16 points while Crystal Palace move onto 21 points.
Chances were scarce in the first half and Crystal Palace suffered a blow when they went down to 10 men inside 20 minutes. It was a reckless tackle from Sakho, launching into a high, studs-up challenge on Smith and catching him on the knee. Referee Anthony Taylor was straight over to brandish a red card with Sakho's first start since September over quickly.
Things got worse for the Crystal Palace defence when, seven minutes later, Van Aanholt went down with an injury, thought to be his hamstring. He came off shortly after, heading straight down the tunnel, as Schlupp came on in his place.
Both sides had a sight of goal before the break. Cheikhou Kouyate - who moved into central defence after Sakho's dismissal - nodded a Luka Milivojevic corner just over before Philip Billing's shot from the top of the area went straight into the hands of Vicente Guaita.
The second half began in the same fashion, with Bournemouth having the best chance of game until that point just minutes after the restart. Harry Wilson flashed a ball across the face of goal, with Dominic Solanke missing it from point-blank range before Martin Kelly just got a foot ahead of Callum Wilson to see it behind before he could turn the ball home. A few minutes later, Jordan Ayew went close at the other end, but could only send a Milivojevic corner wide.
Perhaps the source of Crystal Palace's second-half improvement was a better performance from Wilfried Zaha, who had a big penalty appeal turned down in the 70th minute. It was a trademark mazy run that propelled him into the area, but he was bought down by Chris Mepham with huge shouts going up a for a penalty. The referee waved away the claims and there was no VAR review, leaving the Selhurst Park fans furious.
But a few minutes later, and the home crowd were shouting for an entirely different reason as Schlupp scored the winner. A poor midfield pass from Bournemouth allowed James McArthur to tap the ball into Schlupp's path, sending him flying into the area before finishing into the far corner. Aaron Ramsdale got a fingertip onto it, but not enough to keep the powerful drive out, as Schlupp celebrated wildly with the Holmesdale End.
Both goalkeepers made wonderful saves as the game raced towards full-time. Not long after conceding, Ramsdale sent a thunderous McArthur effort over the crossbar with a strong hand, with Jefferson Lerma trying his luck from a similar distance at the other end, but Guaita got down to push it away.
McArthur continues to be the quiet statesman who goes about his business under the radar, but with superb efficency. His stats from Tuesday's game sees him top of the class in many categories, including shots (2 - level with Jordan Ayew), key passes (3), total passes (38, of which 30 were made successfully) and tackles (3).
But perhaps his best stat of the evening is assists, laying the ball off for Schlupp's wonderful run and taking advantage of Bournemouth errors. Along with much of the Crystal Palace team, he can be proud of his evening's work as the Eagles' form looks to be on the up.
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson: "I thought there was no malice in the challenge [from Sakho]. It was a fierce challenge and there was a time in football where those challenge were part and parcel of the game, but in recent seasons, referees have been encouraged to take into account the degree of aggression in the challenge and I can't deny it was a strong, aggressive challenge.
"You always feel a little bit hard done by in those situations because there was a ball there to be won and it was a brave and strong challenge from Sakho.
"I was absolutely delighted with the performance. For 70 minutes, our 10 men stood their ground against a team who are asking a lot of questions and they maintained their shape, their discipline and didn't sag or drop.
"And when we did get the chance to come out with the ball, we were asking a lot of questions of them [Bournemouth] so I am really proud of the team's performance, really pleased for them and I think they deserve an enormous amount of credit.
"It's better to be fifth than fifth from bottom, but there are 23 games to play. I think 21 points is a good return from 15 games and I'm more than happy with that but I won't get carried away by the fifth place."
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe: "We weren't good enough today - there's no hiding that fact. It's disappointing because with the sending off, it was a good opportunity to ram home that advantage and secure much-needed points.
"We didn't attack well today, we didn't pass the ball enough and I think the man advantage almost had an adverse effect on us today. We became predictable and a bit stale, they defended very well, made it difficult for us and it was hard to break them down.
"It [Sakho's challenge] looked high and dangerous, I don't know if he got the ball, but he definitely caught Adam on the knee.
"With our sequence of results, you have to be concerned. I have to take responsibility for that and we need to find solutions quickly."
It's either extreme for these two in their next game. Crystal Palace have a trip to bottom-of-the-league Watford on Saturday while Bournemouth host top-of-the-table Liverpool. Both are 3pm kick-offs.
