Crystal Palace earned a significant confidence booster in their 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Wednesday night ahead of their imminent FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa.
Oliver Glasner made four changes from the side that battled to a goalless draw against Bournemouth, with Jefferson Lerma, Daichi Kamada, Eddie Nketiah and Justin Devenny starting ahead of Chris Richards (suspended), Will Hughes, Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta. An eye on Saturday’s trip to Wembley, perhaps.
Ahead of a three-day period of facing Arsenal and Aston Villa in the capital, Glasner, who won the Europa League at Eintracht Frankfurt, described the hectic schedule as Palace’s ‘Champions League week’, facing this season’s quarter-finalists and title contenders, respectively.
Their hopes of heading to Wembley with a solid performance against the de facto Premier League runners-up looked in jeopardy in the third minute when Martin Odegaard’s inswinging corner was met by Jakub Kiwor, who was allowed to roam free 15 yards from goal and guide his header past Dean Henderson’s near post.
Arsenal’s chants of ‘set piece again, ole ole’ after three minutes were met by a cover of that very song from the away end 25 minutes later when Eberechi Eze thundered his volley from Adam Wharton’s floated corner into the ground, beating David Raya as his effort went in off the post. The Eagles continue to lead the way for set-piece goals this term.
Palace provided a poignant threat going forward, even with their rotated front three. England Under-21 international Wharton had his incisive array of passes on show.
Nketiah – making his first Premier League start since the beginning of March – looked bright. Daniel Munoz and Devenny were linking up well on the right, although the technically intelligent Northern Ireland international did make a habit of slowing play down.
Despite a level of fluidity in attack, the backline was disjointed and their defensive output lacked intensity. Leandro Trossard restored Arsenal’s lead minutes before half time as Jurrien Timber drove his side forward before slotting the ball to the Belgian in the box. Trossard danced past Maxence Lacroix and Lerma and curled his left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
The second half continued at a similar offensive intensity. Palace looked, for the most part, more likely to find the back of the net. A succession of corners, delivered by Kamada, had Arsenal worried. Marc Guehi forced a big save from Raya. Sarr could not connect to nod a begging ball into the gaping Arsenal net.
Glasner, as he did with the starting eleven, rotated throughout the game. Sarr and Hughes replaced Wharton and Eze at the hour mark. Romain Esse and Jean-Philippe Mateta featured for the final ten minutes, Devenny and Nketiah made way.
The Gunners delivered a couple of scares in front of the Palace net. Odegaard's ball over the top to Timber was turned in by Gabriel Martinelli, but VAR rescued the Eagles as the ball went out of play before Timber delivered his cross.
Both goalkeepers had been questionable with their feet throughout the evening in north London, but Dean Henderson showed his special shot-stopping quality when he prevented Bukayo Saka from turning Gabriel Martinelli’s cross into the Palace net with an outstanding save.
Glasner’s side had been resilient at the Emirates, and their reward came in the 83rd minute when Kamada pressured William Saliba into a loose pass straight into Mateta’s path. Raya was off his line and Mateta walloped an effort from 35 yards straight into the top corner. There may have been questions surrounding his confidence after being subbed in his last six outings before being benched at Arsenal, but the leveller gave credence to his class.
Eight minutes of added time were levied. Those with an eye on Wembley would have been disappointed with the extra exertion required.
After conceding ten goals in their previous two away games – against Manchester City and Newcastle – Palace demonstrated that they are capable of competing against world-class opposition in their display at the home of Champions League semi-finalists Arsenal.
They will need the same conviction at Wembley on Saturday when they face Unai Emery’s Aston Villa for the fourth time this season, with a place in the final of the FA Cup up for grabs. Wednesday’s display will certainly embolden their hopes.
