What a fine win for Crystal Palace. The match could have gone either way, and West Ham may question the accuracy of VAR on the winning goal, but it’s hard to begrudge Palace. They were resourceful, disciplined and had a soupçon of brilliance in the shape of Wilfried Zaha.
Full time: West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace
Peep peep! Crystal Palace are fourth in the Premier League.
90+5 min Guaita saves from Diop’s header. Fornals floated the free-kick to the far post, where the stretching Benteke headed it up in the air. Noble cushioned a volley back across goal towards Diop, whose header on the run was too close to Guaita.
90+4 min Zabaleta is fouled just outside the area by Townsend, who could have been booked twice in the last couple of minutes.
90+3 min “Well, the top two are probably settled but third and fourth seem to be up for grabs,” says Mary Waltz. “What a fine match by Crystal Palace.”
Probably!
90+2 min West Ham appeal for a penalty when Haller goes over after a tangle with Cahill. Nothing doing.
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90+1 min There will be six added minutes. Benteke came on for Ayew. The goal, since you asked, came when the free-kick for that foul on Zaha was only half cleared. Townsend curled in a deep cross from the right, Kelly headed coolly back across goal and Ayew shoved it under Roberto from six yards.
90 min Jordan Ayew is replaced by SOMEONE I DON’T KNOW WHO OKAY.
There were two checks – the first for offside against Kelly, the second when he headed the ball across the area for Ayew to score from close-range. Both were extremely tight, but VAR judged that both were fine.
GOAL! West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace (Ayew 87)
Two-one!
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88 min Actually, I think is going to be given...
87 min: Ayew has a goal disallowed for offside! It’ll be checked by VAR but I’m pretty sure it’s the right decision.
86 min Fredericks is booked for pulling back Zaha, who has caused problems since moving to the left.
85 min van Aanholt makes a vital interception, nicking the ball off Haller as he is about to shoot. The chance came after a fine run and pass from Wilshere.
84 min The match is in danger of petering out. West Ham make their final change, with Pablo Zabaleta replacing the injured Aaron Cresswell.
83 min Zaha is fouled just outside the area on the left by Fredericks. Michael Oliver gives nothing.
82 min Palace make a change, with Andros Townsend replacing a weary James McCarthy. He’s had a good game.
81 min It’s been a frustrating game for West Ham. Although they’ve had a few chances, they haven’t had any sustained spells of pressure. Palace have been excellent.
80 min If it stays like this, West Ham will go fourth and Palace eighth.
78 min Another West Ham change: Jack Wilshere replaces Andriy Yarmolenko.
75 min “Evening Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “Nice of you to let the late, great David Coleman take over MBM duties for the first goal from his commentary box in the sky. Has there ever been a better way of describing the opening goal in a game?”
Nope. From memory, Coleman didn’t always limit “one-nil!” to the opening goal either.
74 min It’s hard to pick a winner here. It’s not like Romania v England in 1998, when only one team was ever going to score.
70 min “Watching this pair, both teams seem stuffed with capability,” says Bill Hargreaves. “Is there any truth in this assertion that it’s the best league, that on any given Sunday any team can beat any of the others? They do seem incredibly well coached throughout and to have skills and application in abundance. Is it my imagination or have they all upped their game in the era of Klopp and Pep?”
I do agree that the standard around the middle of the Premier League is higher than for much of the decade. Mind you, it might be an illusion caused by United and Arsenal downing their game so spectacularly. I’d say the standard at the top is the highest it’s been since the late 1990s.
69 min Haller’s snap-volley from Fredericks’ cross is blocked by Cahill. That was a fine effort.
68 min Manuel Lanzini, who looks a bit rusty, is replaced by Pablo Fornals.
65 min After a truly diabolical start, this has become a really interesting game.
GOAL! West Ham 1-1 Crystal Palace (van Aanholt 63 pen)
Van Aanholt scores, dancing round the ball before sliding it into the bottom-left corner. Roberto went the wrong way.
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62 min With Milovojevic suspended, Patrick van Aanholt will take the penalty.
PENALTY TO PALACE!
Kouyate’s volleyed cross hits Rice’s arm in the area. He was only a yard away but his arm was in an unnatural position, as if he was dancing the funky chicken.
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60 min Haller is booked for a foul on McArthur.
59 min Noble drives over the bar from 20 yards. Guaita had it covered.
58 min Zaha’s near-post cross is kneed well wide by Ayew, under pressure from the impressive Diop.
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That was a lovely team goal. It started with some rat-a-tat passing from West Ham to get out of a tight spot in their own half, and continued for another 30 seconds or so as they probed for an opening. Eventually Yarmolenko played in the overlapping Fredericks, who ran at van Aanholt and drove a low cross into a crowded penalty area. Haller reacted quickest, stretching to force the ball past Guaita from 10 yards.
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GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Palace (Haller 54)
One-nil!
52 min Ogbonna misses a good chance, slapping a volley over the bar from eight yards after a free-kick ricocheted around the Palace box. His control was excellent, but he couldn’t quite get over the subsequent shot.
51 min Joel Ward is booked for pulling back Felipe Anderson.
50 min Zaha has started the second half brightly. Palace have had a lot more of the ball than expected.
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46 min Peep peep! West Ham begin the second half.
Half-time reading
Half time: Crystal Palace 0-0 West Ham
Peep peep! That wasn’t exactly an epiphany-inducing half of football, though it did get better towards half-time. See you in 15 minutes for the second half.
45+2 min Lanzini misses a good chance, whistling a low shot wide from the edge of the box. He was set up beautifully by Felipe Anderson, who cushioned a volleyed pass into his path.
44 min Yarmolenko is booked for a late tackle on Ward. Palace have been the better team for much of this first half.
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42 min McCarthy’s stinging long-range shot is flapped away by Roberto, diving to his left. “What is that?” laments Jamie Carragher, who thought he should have caught it. “It’s a cameras job.”
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40 min Guaita makes another smart reaction save to stop an own goal from Kelly. Felipe Anderson’s cross from the left pinballed around the six-yard box before hitting Kelly to force a good save from Guaita.
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39 min After an abysmal start, the last 10 minutes have been pretty enjoyable.
36 min: Fredericks clears off the line! Zaha made the chance with a glorious bit of skill, turning past Cresswell in a phonebox by the touchline. Then he drew tjhe keeper Roberto before pulling the ball to Schlupp on the six-yard line. He mistimed a shot that looped towards goal, and Fredericks cleared it off the line.
32 min Felipe Anderson misses a good chance. Fredericks picked him out with a nice, lofted cross beyond the far post, but Anderson sliced his volley so badly that it went straight back out to the right wing. Seconds later, he forced a decent save from Guaita with a stopping header from 12 yards, but the first chance was the big one.
29 min: Fine save from Guaita! A moment of quality at last. Noble threaded a superb pass down the inside-right channel to Yarmolenko; he drove a first-time cross towards the near post, where Haller got away from Kelly and hit a close-range shot that was instinctively saved by Guaita.
25 min Ayew goes down after wearing Ogbonna’s arm in the face. I don’t think it was deliberate, and VAR didn’t get involved.
25 min Palace are having slightly the better of the game now. Cahill heads a corner down into the six-yard box, prompting a bit of a scramble before the ball is cleared by a West Ham defender.
23 min Ayew’s shot from the edge of the area is blocked, I think by one of his own team-mates.
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21 min See 19 min. This is dismal.
19 min I don’t know what to say. There’s nothing whatsoever to report.
15 min This, if true, is quite amusing: apparently Sadio Mane started clutching the wrong ankle after earning Liverpool’s matchwinning penalty against Leicester. The reason I’m talking about that game is that absolutely nothing is happening in this one.
14 min Palace are having an even share of possession now, although the best thing about the game remains the two kits.
11 min Ayew and Schlupp combine promisingly on the left of the West Ham box before Yarmolenko clears. It hasn’t been a great start to the game.
7 min Palace’s 4-3-2-1 is more of a 45---1 at the moment. Wilfried Zaha must be loving his role on the right wing.
5 min Nothing to report as yet. Palace are defending very deep, as you’d expect.
2 min The pattern of the match has been set, with lots of West Ham possession. Find someone who loves you as much as Roy Hodgson loves good defensive shape.
1 min Peep peep! Crystal Palace kick off from right to left. There are two cracking kits on show today: West Ham’s 1970s homage vs the Palace sash.
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The players are in the tunnel, and what a spacious, beautifully air-conditioned tunnel it is.
Liverpool’s winner means that West Ham will go third if they win tonight. Now that’s an evocative position round these parts.
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Liverpool have won their 17th consecutive Premier League game. James Milner, so reliable from the spot, has scored at Anfield to give them a 2-1 win over Leicester. It’s surely going to happen this year.
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Liverpool have an injury-time penalty at Anfield...
James Maddison has equalised for Leicester in a fascinating match at Anfield. Follow the last 10 minutes with Will Unwin.
Team news
West Ham (4-1-4-1) Roberto; Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Rice; Yarmolenko, Noble, Lanzini, Felipe Anderson; Haller.
Substitutes: Martin, Balbuena, Zabaleta, Snodgrass, Fornals, Wilshere, Ajeti.
Crystal Palace (4-3-2-1) Guaita; Ward, Kelly, Cahill, van Aanholt; Kouyate, McArthur, McCarthy; Zaha, Schlupp; Ayew.
Substitutes: Hennessey, Tomkins, Dann, Camarasa, Meyer, Townsend, Benteke.
Referee Michael Oliver.
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Preamble
Hello. For a team that started the season with a 5-0 home defeat, West Ham are going along quite nicely. They are unbeaten since then, fifth in the table and playing some classy football; their last home game was that impressive win over Manchester United.
Crystal Palace are quietly having a good season themselves. Their defence has been typically excellent, apart from one shambolic half at Spurs, with only Liverpool and Leicester conceding fewer goals. A win for either side would take them to fourth in the table.
Kick off is at 5.30pm.
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