Crystal Palace battled to a 1-1 draw at West Ham, as Odsonne Edouard snatched a second-half equaliser to earn the visitors a point.
Roy Hodgson’s side travelled to the London Stadium missing key players in Eberechi Eze and Cheick Doucoure, but earned themselves a point from a losing position.
Defender Chris Richards made a rare start in midfield alongside Jefferson Lerma, and delivered an impressive performance as Palace began their quest to replace two important players.
Chris Richards was impressive in Crystal Palace draw
Richards was making his second Premier League start of the season, but the centre-back found himself in an unfamiliar position as he started as a defensive midfielder for the first time.
The 23-year-old was outstanding defensively as he battled against a West Ham midfield containing physical players in Edson Alvarez and Tomas Soucek.
As per FOTMOB, Richards won an astonishing 11 duels, losing just two of 13 attempted, and won three of his five attempted tackles.
Although he could have offered more on the ball, completing 72% of his passes, but did make five passes into the final third.
Chris Richards deserves more game time
A positive to take from the performance was that Richards looked comfortable in an unfamiliar position, and he could be an internal solution for Hodgson until the January transfer window.
Richards can even play at right-back, and with Joel Ward disappointing this season, the £55k-a-week defender could slot in for him.
The former Bayern Munich youngster spent most of last season absent with injury, but Doucoure’s injury could open up an opportunity for him to establish himself as a first-team player.
Palace will host Bournemouth on Wednesday night, and Richards will hope to keep his starting spot as his side aim to get back to winning ways.
Whilst they did earn a draw today, they have won just one of the last seven Premier League games, and three points against a fellow struggling side will be crucial ahead of a tough set of fixtures.
