Crystal Palace came agonisingly close to ending their winless start to 2023 as they led 1-0 against Brentford in the dying stages.
However, a 96th minute header from Vitaly Janelt broke the hearts of Crystal Palace fans everywhere as the south Londoners now find themselves eight games without a win.
The Eagles could have managed the game better in stoppage time, although Jordan Ayew bizarrely decided to cross the ball rather than keep it in the corner, which did not go down well with Patrick Vieira.
What’s the story?
Well – according to Matt Woosnam of The Athletic, who was at the game – Vieira was furious with Ayew for his decision making, which ultimately allowed Brentford to go up the other end and score.
The Frenchman was visibly frustrated with the Crystal Palace No.9 for allowing the Bees to have one final attack, which they took full advantage of in what was a repeat of the 1-1 draw earlier in the season at Selhurst Park.
You can see what Woosnam tweeted in full below.
In truth, Ayew undid all of his efforts with his late error, as he had actually performed well up until that point.
As WhoScored shows, the Ghana international registered four key passes against Brentford – no player on the pitch made more – while he also won four freekicks for Crystal Palace to take the pressure off at times, the most of anyone from both sides.
Sadly for Ayew, nobody will care about that after his sloppiness in the dying stages.
Crystal Palace fail to learn from 1-1 Brentford draw
As aforesaid, Crystal Palace also drew 1-1 against Brentford earlier in the season.
In that clash at Selhurst Park back in August, the south Londoners again led 1-0 before throwing two points away in the dying stages, just like they did earlier today.
Almost seven months on from that draw, the fact Vieira’s side are still struggling to see out victories suggests they are learning absolutely nothing from these tough results.
With Crystal Palace just six points above the relegation zone, they need to start picking up some wins.
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