Why Chelsea FINALLY Turned A Corner.
Crystal Palace managed to wash away any lingering sadness from transfer deadline day with a superb win over Wolves on Sunday.
Two goals from Odsonne Edouard and a clever strike from Eberechi Eze moved us up to seventh in the Premier League, following two wins and a draw from our opening four games.
While nobody performed badly against Wolves, one moment showed exactly why Crystal Palace are better off without Jeffrey Schlupp in the starting XI.
What’s the story?
Well – in the 71st minute – Roy Hodgson took the Crystal Palace No.15 off.
Jean-Philippe Mateta was brought on in the Ghanaian’s place, and almost immediately, we went 2-1 up thanks to a goal heavily influenced by the newly introduced Frenchman.
The 26-year-old delightfully flicked the ball off his back into the path of Eze, who prodded home sharply, before grabbing yet another assist for Edouard’s second goal with a clever backheel.
In just 19 minutes of action, Mateta did more than Schlupp managed in his 71 minutes on the pitch, and the difference in our performance level once that change had been made was striking.
Jeffrey Schlupp can still be useful for Crystal Palace
We are by no means encouraging Hodgson to throw Schlupp out into the wilderness, as he can still be a useful player.
However, we believe the 30-year-old should start on the bench more often than not nowadays.
Schlupp’s best performances in recent years have come as a substitute, when the opposition are fairly tired and he can use his ability to carry the ball forwards to greater effect.
His physical capabilities are still tremendous, although they are best saved in the dying stages of a game when things have opened up a bit, and it’s not so cagey.
Ultimately, Schlupp looks far too passive to be a starter, and it spoke volumes that the game swung completely in our favour once Hodgson swapped him for Mateta.
