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March 28 2024 9.21am

Player ratings: Bournemouth v Palace

April 8 2018

Luka Milivojevic

Luka Milivojevic

Crystal Palace conceded another late goal that saw Bournemouth snatch a point against the Eagles. Mike Scott scores the players...

Palace’s game against Bournemouth at the Vitality saw the youngest manager in the Premier League square up against the oldest in the league and in the end, it was Hodgson who was left frustrated by his younger counterpart Eddie Howe.

With Palace leading twice in the game, it’s no wonder Hodgson sounded spikey in his post-match press conference; he mentioned how it was missed chances when Palace were 1-0 up that really cost them in the 2-2 draw.

Wayne Hennessey - 6

At the start of the second half, soon after Palace went ahead, Bournemouth had a period of domination that saw excellent shots from Marc Pugh and Lewis Cook stopped by Hennessey within a minute or so of each other. The home side did little to exploit any weaknesses with crosses, so he looked fairly assured and he started a couple of counters with decent balls forward. He will have been frustrated that he had to pick the ball out of the net twice.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 6

For long periods of the game, Bournemouth were trying to exploit the opposite flank, so Wan-Bissaka had a quiet first half an hour or so. Marc Pugh was the home side’s only real outlet down there left and the Palace man dealt with him well, blocking two or three balls and sliding in well. After some inspired substitutions from boss Howe in the second half, he found work harder; it was him who let Josh King free for the Cherries' equaliser.

James Tomkins - 7

A welcome return to fitness for Tomkins saw Palace start with their first-choice centre back pairing. Aside from being caught cold in the first minute, he had a solid first half, with the Eagles looking disciplined and the defensive midfield shielding the back line well. In the second, there were moments of frantic defending, especially in the air. It was Tomkins’ header that landed at the feet of a Bournemouth player to set up Lys Mousset’s goal. He struggled to get near the ball for the second goal too. But in between those moments, he was an absolute rock.

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Mamadou Sakho - 6

It does seem like Sakho is becoming a bit of a scapegoat when Palace do concede. More disapproval on the message boards and more BBC commentators talking of him as a bit of a liability mean his mistakes are magnified more than his colleagues. He was caught out in the first few seconds when Callum Wilson got in behind him and there were some stray passes, but he made a crucial block before the second goal and for much of the game looked very comfortable. Like Tomkins, he lost the aerials battles too often to Bournemouth’s players and it did cost Palace. But it was failure to convert chances, not terrible defending, that cost the Eagles.

Patrick van Aanholt - 7

Van Aanholt had his work cut out with the hosts channelling much of their forward play down his flank. Ryan Fraser, Jermain Defoe and Cook created a lot and Van Aanholt needed help from Loftus-Cheek and Zaha to sure things up. There seems to be a good understanding between the three of them though and Van Aanholt did well. He was a good outlet going forward again, although missed a one on one at 1-0 that surely would have turned the game totally.

Luka Milivojevic - 8

Betting on Luka to score is, at the moment, a license to print money and he scored an absolute belter at the start of the second half that paid for this writer’s drinks for the evening. Aside from that, Milivojevic spearheaded a midfield that outclassed Lewis Cook and Dan Gosling for long periods. With Bournemouth playing a very open style, he was able to start some excellent moves from the back too; a glorious, inch-perfect long-range ball to Zaha before the break deserved a goal.

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Yohan Cabaye - 6

Like Milivojevic, Cabaye looked comfortable dealing with the Bournemouth midfield, who were set up in a line of four that mirrored Palace’s tactics. He was strong cover for Tomkins and Sakho, but put in more of a box-to-box performance than perhaps he usually does when Christian Benteke starts. He was unlucky not to have a sitter passed to him by Zaha which may have just broken his scoring duck too, although it was him who earned the foul for Milivojevic’s goal.

James McArthur - 7

Other than a shot that was blocked by Nathan Ake at the end of the first half, Match of the Day barely panned to McArthur for its highlights of the game. But in fact, he worked tirelessly for the cause and he was invaluable cover at times when Bournemouth were dominant and playing a lot of threatening balls through the middle. He stopped Defoe from scoring his customary goal against Palace too, when he blocked a shot from 12 yards out.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek - 7

It was easy to see, at times, what Palace missed with Loftus-Cheek being out injured for so long. The expectation may have been for him to make a more telling contribution going forward, but with the formation Hodgson had to play, he played a more defensive role, supporting Van Aanholt. His physical strength was noticeable, starting moves on a couple of occasions that Townsend and Zaha ran with. If he can find himself in the middle for some more crosses, he will really help Palace in the last five games.

Andros Townsend - 7

It is ironic that, with Benteke out, the formation Hodgson plays gives Townsend much more opportunity to get crosses in. He put in as many as he has in any game this season, but the speed of breaks on the counter often left his colleagues too far back to take advantage. He set up Zaha for his goal and he caused Charlie Daniels plenty of headaches throughout. Having him and Zaha up front may divide opinion, but it does demonstrate just how much Townsend does create for the Eagles.

Wilfried Zaha - 7

It’s hard to tell whether pantomime boos throughout the game from the home fans got to Zaha or helped him, but he certainly felt aggrieved by some of the treatment from the Bournemouth defenders and he wasn’t too impressed by how many of the challenges were going unpunished. This did seem to lead to him having some quiet moments in the game, but for spells in the second half he was unplayable; just watch his goal a few times. OK, it took a deflection, but it is a beautifully skillful goal. He wasted some chances that should have won the game for Palace, but they would have left with nothing without him.

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