Crystal Palace’s aggression was channelled in the wrong direction in their 2-0 defeat by Southampton at Selhurst Park. Roy Hodgson’s side came into the game unchanged and optimistic after their 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Saturday, but a composed and incisive Saints side eased to victory with something to spare.
Explosive long-range shots by Nathan Redmond and Stuart Armstrong secured the points but the only fireworks Palace produced were when Wilfried Zaha provoked a tunnel skirmish at the break by poking a finger in James Ward-Prowse’s face. James Tomkins and Redmond got into a pushing match late on but the confrontations, like Palace’s performance, never really caught fire.
Cenk Tosun wasted the best chance of the early exchanges by blasting the ball over the bar when free on goal but Southampton were much keener and coherent from the start. Even an early reshuffle when Cedric Soares limped off after a rugged challenge from Jairo Riedewald appeared to work in their favour. Oriol Romeu sat deep and spread the ball wisely and Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team were significantly more dangerous throughout.
Hodgson will be disappointed with the opening goal that came midway through a tepid first half. Jack Stephens brought the ball out of defence and launched a long pass to Redmond. The striker was surrounded by defenders but twisted and turned outside the box until he caught a sight of goal. His right-footed effort was superb but Vicente Guaita was let down by his defenders because they had ample opportunity to close the shot down.
There were more chances before the half. Armstrong forced Guaita to save from inside the area. Ryan Bertrand, who was causing the home side problems, fired narrowly wide from distance. Shane Long had an opportunity and went around the Palace goalkeeper but the forward was unable to find an angle to shoot.
Meanwhile, the home side were struggling to create any danger. There was little for the Selhurst crowd to get excited about on a cold night. Palace’s frustration was palpable. Zaha was furious as the whistle blew for half-time and jabbed at Ward-Prowse. The altercation continued in the tunnel. Security suggested that the confrontation did not boil over into a fracas but a number of Southampton players remained pitchside, waiting for things to calm down before heading to the dressing-room.
If Palace were fired up for the second half, Armstrong extinguished their threat three minutes after the restart. Redmond fed the midfielder and the Scot was given too much time and space on the edge of the box. Guaita once again had little opportunity to get a hand to the ball before it hit the net.
Southampton were well on top. Shane Long will regret shooting straight at the goalkeeper when Michael Obafemi gave the striker the freedom of Palace’s box and Redmond fired a more difficult chance at Guaita. The home team were out of sorts and their tendency to funnel the majority of their attacking moves through Zaha made them predictable. Selhurst’s talisman bears too much of the weight of the team and it is little wonder that he becomes so exasperated. Hodgson needs to find a way to vary the point of attack because Southampton were too comfortable. Hasenhuttl did a little jig at the final whistle, celebrating a much easier night than might have been expected.
