Second-half goals from midfield duo James McArthur and Luka Milivojevic earned Crystal Palace a crucial three points against Southampton.
Below are four talking points from St Mary’s.
1. Comeback kings strike again
After losing seven consecutive games without scoring at the start of the season, Palace have now earned 22 points from the last 45 available, which works out a very healthy rate of 1.47 per game. Roy Hodgson has done a terrific job at Selhurst Park so far, with the Eagles now just three points adrift of Watford in 10th place.
Many of their points have been accrued from losing positions, evidencing a resilience which will no doubt please the former England manager. Palace have now taken nine points from matches in which they have conceded the first goal, with this come-from-behind victory fully deserved given the strength of their second-half performance.
2. Southampton fail to press home advantage
Southampton dominated the opening 30 minutes of this encounter, with the extra few hours’ rest they were afforded compared to their opponents after New Year’s weekend seeming to make a big difference. Shane Long gave the hosts the lead in the 17th minute, but Mauricio Pellegrino’s men failed to press home their advantage at a time when Palace were struggling to threaten their goal.
In the end, that proved costly; while Saints had a couple of chances to score a second, they did not do enough from a position of strength. This defeat leaves them outside of the drop zone on goal difference alone, with Pellegrino now under more pressure as his side’s winless run stretched to nine games.
3. Milivojevic the match-winner two days after penalty miss
Milivojevic had the chance to inflict defeat upon Manchester City for the first time this season on Sunday, but his tame penatly in second-half stoppage time was kept out by Ederson. It did not take long for the Serbia international to get that miss out of his system quickly judging by his display here; even before executing a glorious finish to put Palace 2-1 up, the ex-Olympiacos man was excellent in the centre of the park.
Energetic and aggressive without the ball but calm when he is in possession, Milivojevic is one of Palace’s most important players at the base of midfield. His superb strike was his fourth of the season, making him the south Londoners’ joint-top scorer.
4. Fatigue evident for both teams
With Southampton and Palace both facing two of the division’s best sides at the weekend, it was no surprise that both appeared fatigued at St Mary’s. It is understandable that the Premier League wishes to capitalise on a time of year when many other European top flights are holding their winter breaks, but the wisdom of giving some teams just 48 hours’ turnaround is highly questionable.
The spectacle suffers as a result of such demands, and although this was an eminently watchable game given Palace’s improvement after the break, a rethink may be required over the festive period in 2018.
