August 13 2017

Wayne Hennessey

Mike Scott analyses the Crystal Palace player performances and tries to pick out some positives...

The overwhelming excitement at a new season, with a new formation masterminded by a Dutch icon, was greeted with a harsh reality check in Palace’s first home game of the campaign.

Wayne Hennessey - 5

While Wayne can’t be held accountable for any of the goals, he looked out of his depth with the pressure put on him by de Boer’s plans for playing out from the back. Towards the middle of the second half, it seemed that he had decided he’d had enough - and the trademark Hennessey 80-yard boot made a return.

Timothy Fosu-Mensah - 6

The Netherlands U-21 international’s debut couldn’t have come during a worse team performance, so it’s hard to judge him too much. Showed some strong moments, including a last-ditch tackle that was probably a goal saver, along with a couple of notable blocks. Subbed for James Tomkins on 78 minutes who came on when the damage was done.

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Scott Dann - 5

An absolutely sublime sliding tackle that prevented Kachunga slotting one past Hennessey may stick in the mind, but Dann still looked a little off the pace. A few high-profile errors, including one that gifted impressive Huddersfield forward Mounie a golden chance (thankfully cleaned up by Fosu-Mensah), suggest Dann is going to need to adjust more to his new role if he is going to stay as the anchor in defence.

Jairo Riedewald - 6

Left standing motionless after the flick that led to Huddersfield’s opener, Riedewald nevertheless showed glimpses of his abilities. Cool in possession, he was rarely caught out of position by the relentless waves of away attacks. He will need some more support from the wide midfield players if his strengths are to benefit Palace.

Joel Ward - 4

Putting the ball in your own net early on usually does mean you’re not going to have a blinder and, at times, Ward looked like a fish out of water in his role as the wide right midfielder/wing back. Lacking the quality with his final passes, he equally looked troubled tracking back for cover.

Luka Milivojevic - 5

The initial excitement at seeing Luka back in his favoured midfield position was soon tempered when he seemed to be feeling for his hamstring early on. The first half became as anonymous a performance as he’s put in since joining Palace – although that is by his own high standards. Clearly struggling, he was subbed for Andros Townsend at half time – who improved things going forward, taking up the slack left by the faltering Ward.

Jason Puncheon - 6

Clearly, the 3-4-3 formation suits Puncheon’s game – he is shaping up to be more of a focal point than he was under Pardew or Big Sam. The opportunities didn’t really come that often for anything too creative and a ballooned shot seem to kill his confidence. He attempted to rally the team during some moaning over Huddersfield fouls and referee decisions in the first half, but couldn’t do enough to change momentum.

Patrick van Aanholt - 5

Many Palace faithful were quietly confident having seem PVA was starting, but he seemed to be someway of full match sharpness. Other than his free-kicks, he was virtually anonymous for long periods, which is in sharp contrast to late last season. Some of his set-pieces were dire. Two or three corners aside, he squandered a lot of opportunities.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek - 7

Palace’s player of the match by quite a distance, the 21-year-old Chelsea loanee was the only thorn in Huddersfield’s side in the midfield. His coolness and pinpoint passing, including a sublime cross-field pass that set Zaha free, was the only real plus point of the game for Palace. He put in a shift in front of defence too. Promising stuff.

Wilfried Zaha - 5

It’s not often Zaha has a serious off game, but Saturday was one of those occasions. Seeming to take offence to Huddersfield pressing and strong challenges early on, Wilf was given a warning by the ref to pack it in. After that, he produced very little in the first half. After the break, Townsend gave Zaha a bit of extra momentum, but aside from a couple of runs and a beautiful cross in that Benteke couldn’t arrive for, the game was one for him to forget.

Christian Benteke - 5

Twitter rumblings suggested Benteke is not match fit but it seems more that he is struggling to adapt to the new tactics. Not given the chance to show his trademark holding strength, he seemed to disappear for long periods. Denied a goal in the first half by a sublime bit of keeping, on another day he may have had one or two but it feels like we’ve said that before. FDB will need to find how best to use Benteke and quickly.