Crystal Palace ran out 3-1 winners against Brentford in the Premier League which was a successful end to 2023.
Roy Hodgson will no doubt be delighted with what his side did on Saturday afternoon at Selhurst Park.
Crystal Palace initially went 1-0 down before fighting back to win 3-1 over Brentford.
In the comeback, Michael Olise played an absolutely pivotal role as he scored twice with both being brilliant goals as he continues to destroy the league.
His most recent goal has him now third in the league for goals per 90, with 0.67 which is beaten only by Alexander Isak and Erling Haaland.
However, despite Olise being excellent, there was one man who was superb against Brentford and his defensive display probably played a key role in Palace picking up all three points.
Chris Richards impresses against Brentford
Chris Richards played the entire 90 against Brentford in defensive midfield in which he was a dominant force, giving the likes of Eberechi Eze and Olise the platform to perform.
FotMob gave Richards a 7.4 match rating out of 10 and his stats tell the story behind how excellent he was in this game.
He won three tackles and made six clearances in the game which is a high number of defensive contributions. He also won seven duels which included three aerially as he dominated the midfield giving Brentford no chance.
On the ball, he was also improved, with a 90% pass completion rate and 100% long ball accuracy.
Richards caps off a solid month for Palace
This display from Richards is the latest in what has been a pretty good month from the American.
Notably he was top class in early December against West Ham with a display which was lauded as a ‘masterclass’.
Richards has divided opinion while playing in his new midfield role recently, but his performances can’t be ignored. and he seems to be improving week on week here.
That being said, ideally he would be relocated to right-back but right now that’s something Palace seem not ready to do.
