Crystal Palace lost 4-0 to Newcastle on the weekend and one tactical tweak from Roy Hodgson involving Odsonne Edouard was a decision the manager got very wrong.
The player was ineffective in the match due to it.
So, what saw Odsonne Edouard fail to make much of an impact and why did it cause Crystal Palace issues? Let’s take a look…
Odsonne Edouard tactical change did not help the Eagles
When the lineups were revealed an hour before kick-off on Saturday, there would have been joy from the Palace fan base as Jefferson Lerma and Cheick Doucoure were back in the starting lineup following injuries.
Sadly, the attacking options were not as strong as Roy Hodgson would have wanted due to injuries and this saw Odsonne Edouard and Jean-Philippe Mateta both start the match.
What may have surprised many was the fact that the Eagles also had three midfielders. Instead of putting Mateta and Edouard both in a central position, we saw Edouard moved to the left wing, with Mateta up front and Jordan Ayew on the other wing.
This tactical setup was not good and multiple outcomes during the match saw us feel like the decision by Hodgson was one that was wrong and should not have been done in the first place.
Odsonne Edouard out of position in Crystal Palace loss
Edouard is definitely able to play on the left-wing, but with him scoring four Premier League goals this season as a striker, it felt like a weird decision to move him away from where he has shone, especially with Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze injured.
More so, Mateta has only been good in the Premier League this season when coming off the bench. He feels more like an impact substitution and he struggles to offer anything in attack on his own.
Edouard is also not known for his defensive qualities. Arguably, he should be doing more work defensively. Therefore, to put him on the left-wing against full-back Kieran Trippier was something which we saw cause issues throughout the match.
Trippier had the freedom of the wing, and it is proven that he loves to attack by the fact that he has the joint-most assists in the Premier League this season. The tactical setup by Hodgson saw left-back Tyrick Mitchell constantly having to face defensive situations where he was against two players.
Yes Edouard, who Palace signed for around £14m, should be defending more and helping Mitchell out more; however, when it is known that he isn’t the best at defending, it felt like a big tactical decision the manager got wrong on the day.
With the next game for Palace another tough one against Spurs, Hodgson will definitely have to reconsider what he does in the next Premier League match.
