Crystal Palace continued their unbeaten start to the season on Saturday as they beat West Ham United 2-1.
Graham Potter was under pressure heading into this game, and the Eagles didn’t do the former Brighton boss any favours here.
Jean-Philippe Mateta will again be amongst the headlines after his goal, while Tyrick Mitchell also got in on the act, but it was a staunch defensive performance that caught the eye of most fans.
Indeed, during and after this match, Crystal Palace supporters on social media couldn’t help but laud Chris Richards for his outstanding defensive performance at the back.
Marc Guehi gets a lot of attention, but Richards was the man in the spotlight on this occasion.
Crystal Palace fans laud Chris Richards
Supporters took to social media to hail Richards for his performance against West Ham.
“Chris Richards has been Captain America recently. Such a good defender,” One wrote.
Meanwhile, another noted just how underrated the centre-back is.
On top of that, another lauded the centre-back as being ‘immense’.
“Chris Richards has been immense btw. So underrated,” They wrote.
Palace supporters may have been somewhat worried last summer when Joachim Andersen left the club to join Fulham, but Richards has seriously stepped up over the past 12 months.
Another simply wrote: “Chris Richards is actually amazing, so underrated.”
Make no mistake about it, Richards was brilliant on the day, as the stats show.
Chris Richards’ stats vs West Ham
It wasn’t just the eye test that Richards passed against West Ham, the defender also put up some brilliant stats.
As always, Richards was snuffing out danger at any given opportunity, completing a number of clearances and making plenty of tackles.
| Chris Richards’ stats vs West Ham | |
| Tackles | 4 |
| Clearances | 12 |
| Long balls | 5 |
| Interceptions | 1 |
A strong defensive record is the reason behind Palace’s unbeaten start to this season, and if the Eagles can keep this up, there’s no reason why another cup run or European qualification can’t be the aim this season.
Richards has become a genuine star under Oliver Glasner at Selhurst Park.
