West Ham move to within a point of a Champions League place after surviving a late scare in a lively game at Selhurst Park. Patrick Vieira has just been booked for giving the referee a mouthful. When the dust settles and his gums stop flapping, he’ll be proud of his team’s performance. They were 3-0 down at half-time but didn’t comprehend that they had lost, and in the end they almost grabbed a draw.
It was a strange game for West Ham, who in a sense were punished for their own excellence. They were so clinical in the first half, and a 3-0 lead inevitably led to a recurring stick/twist dilemma after the break. Ultimately it’s yet another really good away win, their sixth in the league this season. Only Chelsea and Manchester City have won more.
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Full time: Crystal Palace 2-3 West Ham
Peep peep!
90+4 min: Great effort from Mateta! Schlupp dumps a long, angled cross towards the penalty spot, where Mateta produces an outrageous overhead kick that drifts a few yards wide.
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90+3 min Dawson beats Edouard to a long ball and pokes it back towards Fabianki, who picks it up. alace appeal desperately for an indirect free-kick, but the referee isn’t interested. I think they have a case there. I know West Ham are wearing their 1991-92 tribute kit but that doesn’t mean you can pick backpasses up again.
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90+2 min Palace are effectively down to 10 men, with Ayew barely able to walk never mind run. They’ve used all their subs.
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90+2 min “I’m sure Palace have scored three late goals at home before?” weeps Matt Dony.
90+1 min Four minutes of added time. Who wants to be Dwight Gayle?
GOAL! Crystal Palace 2-3 West Ham (Olise 90)
Olise’s inswinging free-kick beats everyone and bounces into the far corner of the net! It was a cross rather than a shot, though as with the assist for Edouard it was beautifully struck.
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90 min Diop fouls Ayew just outside the penalty box, in line with the left edge of the area. From which...
88 min West Ham’s final change - Mark Noble replaces Manuel Lanzini, who scored twice during an excellent first-half performance.
88 min It doesn’t look like there’s going to be a late flurry from Palace.
85 min Edouard swerves menacingly away from Diop in the D, but Dawson steps across to make an important interception. He’s had a really solid game.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-3 West Ham (Edouard 83)
Olise cuts inside from the right and curls a lovely inswinging cross to the near post, where Edouard stretches to poke a volley past Fabianski. That was not dissimilar to West Ham’s first goal, and I doubt even the most rabid Hammer would begrudge Palace a consolation. It’s the least they deserve.
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79 min Ayew’s snapshot hits Diop and spins behind for a corner. I’m pretty sure that was going in the top corner. Palace have had a lot of openings in this game.
78 min Masuaku is booked for fouling Olise.
77 min Palace are playing with the purpose and enthusiasm of a side who are only one goal down, which says plenty for their morale. Plenty of teams would have turned it in when they were 3-0 down at half-time.
77 min “This could be way off,” says Lakin Brown, “but re: abuse directed at referees, it doesn’t seem to help that we aren’t allowed to hear from the referees themselves, either post-match or during VAR checks. Not as familiar with rugby but in cricket you can hear the conversation during reviews, etc. Even if explanations for decisions were unsatisfactory (to some) this could still encourage fans to recognize that the refs are actual human beings, rather than some blank slate upon which one can project all their grievances and frustrations.”
It might improve things, though I fear it would make the foamers foam even more. The cultures of entitled football fans and narcissitic dullards shouting the loudest are too entrenched.
75 min A change for Palace - Hughes off, Riedewald on.
74 min Mitchell’s fast, flat cross is headed wide of the far post by Mateta, lurking near the penalty spot. Not much of a chance.
71 min West Ham bring on Nikola Vlasic for Said Benrahma, whose delicious cross led to the first goal. This is his last game before he joins the Algeria squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.
68 min A Palace change: Michael Olise replaces the excellent Christian Benteke.
67 min “The worst thing about VAR is that it gives us time to think,” says Kári Tulinius. “Before it arrived, football kept going, just one thing after another, so there was never any time to dwell during a match. During normal play, football gives us too much new information to process all the time. Which is part of its inimitable pleasure.”
I think the worst thing is that it creates an irrational expectation of subjectively correct decisions. To be fair, they are quite a few contenders for ‘the worst thing about VAR’.
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66 min Another chance for Edouard, who shins a shot well wide from 16 yards after a good layoff from Benteke.
65 min A loose ball is collected just outside the Palace area. He flicks the ball and drags a volley on the turn that goes just wide of the near post. The sprawling Guaita probably had it coveredbut it was a fine effort.
65 min The scoreline looks grim but Palace have played well for large parts of this game. There’s a lot to like about this team.
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61 min Mitchell’s hanging cross is headed straight at Fabianski by Mateta. There was no pace on the ball so it wasn’t really a chance.
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61 min A paradox of football tactics and how they are described: Crystal Palace have made an attacking switch from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2.
60 min An attacking change from Patrick Vieira: Jean-Philippe Mateta replaces Luka Milivojevic.
58 min “I think football, in general, would be made better by fans catching themselves when they get the urge to complain about the officiating and just shutting up,” says Eric Peterson. “Every play is different, and every call is made on that particular play’s own merits. ‘Consistency’ is nothing more than a false equivalency - anyone touting a referee’s need for ‘consistency’ has no desire for any consistency at all other than every borderline call they see going in favor of their team. Those who complain that soccer isn’t more like rugby miss the fact that in rugby, there is universally more respect for how difficult that job is and how little the typical fan actually knows about what it takes to perform it properly.”
I completely agree. It’s beyond tedious now. I say that as a fan, never mind a journalist (sic) who is called an effing cee during any liveblog that involves a big club. I used to complain a lot about refereeing decisions before I lost the will to live, and on reflection it’s pretty clear I was an entitled prick. It’s hard to know for sure but it feels like VAR has made that brattish entitlement a lot greater.
55 min Edouard misses a good chance, slicing wide from six yards after a terrific cross from Ayew. He was on the stretch and couldn’t quite get round the ball.
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53 min Benrahma moves infield and finds Coufal on the far side. His cross takes a deflection into the path of Benrahma, who pokes over on the half-turn. He was under a fair bit of pressure and had to take it quickly.
51 min Palace have started the second half with commendable intent, given the scoreline. Edouard robs Rice 35 yards from goal, gets the ball back from Hughes and shoots over from the edge of the D.
49 min Edouard finds Mitchell in the area. He shifts the ball to the left and whips a shot that deflects over off Coufal. Nothing comes of the corner.
46 min Palace begin the second half. West Ham have made a half-time change - Arthur Masuaku is on for Ben Johnson at left-back. It might be an injury, though Johnson was also booked in the first half.
Half time: Crystal Palace 0-3 West Ham
It’s probably fair to say West Ham’s blip is over. They scored four at Watford on Tuesday and now they are crusing to victory at Selhurst Park. The score is really harsh on Palace, who hit the woodwork twice and have contributed fully to an open, entertaining game. West Ham have been the luckier side, for sure, but they’ve also been much more ruthless.
Milivojevic is still protesting, saying he controlled the ball with his chest. He didn’t. It’s a crap penalty to concede - it was all very innocuous, and he didn’t benefit from it - but the law is the law.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-3 West Ham (Lanzini 45+5)
Manuel Lanzini gets his second, and West Ham are going to move within a point of fourth place. It was a superb penalty, rattled into the bottom left corner. Guaita went the right way but had no chance.
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PENALTY GIVEN! Milivojevic isn’t happy, but under the laws of the game it’s a penalty.
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Darren England is going to look at the monitor. I think he’s just inside the area, though it is pretty close.
47 min: VAR check for a West Ham penalty! Milivojevic accidentally controlled a bouncing ball with his arm; the only issue is whether it was inside the area or not. It’s extremely tight.
45+1 min The last man Andersen makes a lovely sliding tackle on Bowen, who had scurried into the area onto Antonio’s pass.
45 min Hughes shoots not far wide from 20 yards. A decent effort, though he did have a ball on to Benteke or Edouard.
44 min Good pressure from Palace, for whom Benteke looks particularly lively. When he’s good, he’s very, very good.
42 min Ward’s cross is met beautifully by Benteke, running round the ball 15 yards from goal, and Fabianski falls to his right to make a decent save. It was sweetly struck by Benteke but not in the corner.
41 min Soucek makes an important lunging tackle to stop Edouard’s pass reaching Benteke in the area.
40 min Antonio has a shot blocked by a defender, though he came from an offside position so it wouldn’t have counted.
38 min Ayew’s hopeful shot on the turn from 22 yards is comfortably saved by Fabianski.
37 min Johnson is booked for a foul on Ayew. Palace are still playing pretty well, certainly in attack, and haven’t let those two quick goals deflate them.
33 min Now Fabianski makes an important save, kicking away Benteke’s shot on the turn.
32 min: Edouard hits the bar! West Ham have scored twice, Palace have hit the woodwork twice. Ayew was found in a lot of space on the right, and moved into the area as Johnson came across to cover. Then he slid the ball back to Edouard, who smacked it off the underside of the bar from 12 yards.
28 min Palace must feel like they’ve been mugged. But West Ham do this far too often for it to be a fluke.
27 min Palace appeal unsuccessfully for a penalty after a grapple between Benteke and Johnson in the area. It looked like a foul by Benteke, if anything, and the referee wasn’t interested.
Declan Rice made it with a typical surge from the halfway line. He squared the ball to Lanzini, who had a bit of space in the D. His first touch wasn’t the best, which allowed Andersen to come across and cover. Or so he thought: Lanzini improvised brilliantly to flick the ball away from Andersen and slam a left-footed volley into the net off the underside of the bar.
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GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-2 West Ham (Lanzini 25)
Manuel Lanzini makes it two with a storming goal!
Michail Antonio gives West Ham the lead. It was made by Said Benrahma, who put in a wicked, inswinging cross from the left. The ball cleared the leaping Andersen and dropped perfectly for Antonio, who got the wrong side of Guehi and studded the ball through Guaita from five yards. That was a stunning ball from Benrahma.
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GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-1 West Ham (Antonio 23)
And that’s Blockbusters.
19 min Antonio’s curling cross from the left is headed just wide by Benrahma. He was only six yards out, though he was under a lot of pressure from Mitchell. Still, a presentable chance.
17 min Schlupp, who looks very sharp, beats Diop through sleight of hip and is flattened. Diop might have been booked, though he would argue he was beaten by skill and didn’t deliberately knock Schlupp over.
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14 min: Vital double save from Guaita! Johnson’s very deep cross was kept alive superbly by Coufal near the byline. He played it back across to Antonio, whose fierce close-range volley hit Guaita. It rebounded towards Antonio, who was about to score when Guaita flung himself at his feet to punch the ball away. That was brave as well as brilliant goalkeeping; I’m not sure I’d throw myself in front of Michael Antonio’s cocked right foot.
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12 min West Ham’s first good passing move. Lanzini feeds the ball into Benrahma, who opens his body to guide a classy first-time pass into the path of Johnson. He tries to pick out Bowen, whose shot is smothered. West Ham keep the ball alive until Coufal blooters the ball into the stars.
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11 min Palace continue to dominate possession, with Hughes and Schlupp breaking forward from midfield at every opportunity.
8 min Mitchell’s deep cross finds Schlupp, whose shot is crucially blocked by Johnson. Palace have started jolly well.
7 min Milivojevic flips the free-kick over the wall and a few yards wide. Fabianski didn’t move, so had it been on target he would have scored.
6 min Benteke cuts inside from the left and is fouled by Soucek. Free-kick to Palace in a decent position: 22 yards out, to the left of centre, pretty much the perfect spot for Milivojevic.
5 min Palace have made a bright start, Edouard in particular.
1 min: Schlupp hits the post! Palace almost take the lead straight from the kick-off. Hughes’ left-wing cross deflected off the head of Dawson and flashed across the face the West Ham goal. Ayew collected the ball and laid it back to Schlupp, who dragged a close-range shot off the far post. He probably should have scored.
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1 min West Ham, in their 1991-92 tribute away strip, kick off from right to left.
Before the match, there is a minute’s applause for all those connected with Palace who died in 2021.
Patrick Vieira is back in the Palace dugout, having missed the games against Spurs and Norwich because of Covid.
"It's good to be back!" 💥
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 1, 2022
Patrick Vieira is delighted to be back in the #CPFC dugout, but admits it's 'very difficult' to prepare for matches with players dropping out of selection.
Watch live on Sky Sports Premier League now! pic.twitter.com/ELLsmcaMiV
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It’s more important than the actual football, you know
Palace make two change from the 3-0 win over Norwich: Christian Benteke and Luka Milivojevic come in for Jean-Philippe Mateta and Cheikhou Kouyate. The exciting Conor Gallagher is still unavailable, while Wilfried Zaha is reportedly isolating.
West Ham make one change. Declan Rice, who was suspended for the 4-1 win at Watford on Tuesday, replaces Mark Noble.
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Team news
Crystal Palace (4-3-3) Guaita; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Schlupp, Milivojevic, Hughes; Ayew, Benteke, Edouard.
Substitutes: Matthews, Butland, Tomkins, Kelly, Olise, Eze, Riedewald, Mateta.
West Ham (4-2-3-1) Fabianski; Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Johnson; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Lanzini, Benrahma; Antonion.
Substitutes: Areola, Fredericks, Masuaku, Alese, Vlasic, Noble, Kral, Yarmolenko, Oko-Flex.
Referee Darren England.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Crystal Palace v West Ham United from Selhurst Park. Both teams are playing their third game in seven days, so there is likely to be a bit of rotation from Patrick Vieira and David Moyes.
It’s already been a good day for West Ham, with fourth-placed Arsenal losing at home to Manchester City. A win tonight would move West Ham to within a point of a Champions League place, a performance for which Moyes and his players still aren’t receiving enough credit.
Palace sit comfortably in mid-table, and will go eighth in they win today. They are very strong at Selhurst Park, where they’ve collected 73.913043478 of their league points this season. West Ham’s away record is equally impressive - only the top three have collected more points - so it should be a decent game.
Kick off 5.30pm.
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