Saturday’s 0-0 draw between Leicester City and Crystal Palace felt like one of those games where both sides could have trudged on for a calendar year without managing to locate one of those big, white rectangles at either end of the King Power Stadium pitch.
Palace are far from the lowest scorers in the Premier League. With 10 to their name, they have six more than Wolves, for instance, and three more than Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.
But, after recording the joint-most draws in the division across 2021/22 (15, level with Brighton), an improvement on Patrick Vieira’s promising first season in the Selhurst Park dugout looks highly unlikely with those time-old problems refusing to budge; a lack of ruthlessness in the final third, and an dearth of clear-cut chances.
Per WhoScored, only Forest and Bournemouth average fewer shots per game than Palace (10.6). The XG table, meanwhile, has the Eagles in the relegation zone. Simply put, with Michael Olise, Ebere Eze, Wilfried Zaha, Odsonne Edouard and co struggling for consistent form, a mid-table finish feels like the limit of what this Crystal Palace team can achieve.
Crystal Palace are struggling for goals and creativity
“We didn’t have the pass going forwards. We didn’t break lines today,” Vieira sighed after that Leicester stalemate; reflecting the frustration of Palace supporters who feel that the club is paying the price for a lack of ball-playing midfielders.
“We didn’t take risks, and this is why we didn’t create much. I don’t think we were aggressive enough going forwards. There is a frustration there but at least we took a point today.”
Would one point have turned into three if Crystal Palace could rely upon the instinctive goalscoring talents of one Fyodor Chalov? Even the finest centre-forwards in the game would struggle to trouble the scoresheets without a reliable supply of ammunition, of course, but Chalov’s brace during CSKA Moscow’s 2-2 draw with Spartak on Sunday – turning half-chances into goals – felt like a reminder of what Palace need. And, for that matter, what they could have had.
‘It’s a shame’
“In the summer, we were interested in signing Chalov,” former Palace boss Roy Hodgson said back in 2020, the Eagles having failed with a £23 million bid for the Russia international (Sky Sports).
“We watched players from different countries and his profile was very interesting for us. But, unfortunately, we couldn’t agree on a deal to sign him.
“It’s a shame, of course, that Chalov didn’t go to England,” adds agent Sandor Varga. “Fedor would have fallen into the hands of my good friend and an excellent coach in Roy Hodgson. I am sure that Chalov’s career would have developed in a completely different way.”
Early in the first half in Sunday’s Moscow derby, Chalov turned an aimless ball into an assist against all odds; hassling a defender into coughing up possession before finishing stylishly. His second of the day – and his 10th in 14 games – was different but no less impressive. Outstanding centre-forward movement capped by a clever header.
Even when Zaha and Olise are in form, it was the sort of performance Edouard and Jean-Philippe Mateta have produced all-too rarely under Vieira. With chances at a premium, Palace need a ruthless marksmen to put them away when they do arrive.
Someone like Chalov.
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