Crystal Palace fell to a disappointing 3-1 Premier League defeat to Southampton.
Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce
Crystal Palace conceded two late goals to hand Southampton all three points from what proved to be an entertaining Premier League encounter.
Frustratingly for the Eagles, the defeat materialised after Christian Benteke had fired Sam Allardyce’s team into a 31st minute lead – with Southampton’s Nathan Redmond bagging an equaliser just before half-time, before the decisive late strikes from Saints defender Maya Yoshida and midfielder James Ward-Prowse.
Despite a recent resurgence, which had seen Palace secure four consecutive Premier League victories, the result against Southampton leaves the Selhurst Park outfit three points above the relegation zone and tentatively still peering over their shoulder at the prospect of slipping further towards the end of season quagmire at the foot of the table.
Indeed, Palace’s current predicament is amplified by the rather daunting fixture list that the Eagles face – including upcoming games against Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United before the season’s culmination.
Crystal Palace’s Christian Benteke scores the game’s opener
However, before Palace fans can start to concern themselves with the task ahead – which also sees the potentially more fruitful fixtures against Leicester City, Burnley and Hull City – there is the matter of the disappointing circumstances in which their side lost to Claude Puel’s Southampton.
In the aftermath of the St. Mary’s defeat, fans of the Eagles took to Twitter to express their distress with how the game evolved – with a particular focus on Allardyce’s decision to replace the injured Yohan Cabaye with Bakary Sako at half time.
Southampton’s Oriol Romeu in action with Crystal Palace’s Bakary Sako
The specifics of supporters’ criticism towards Allardyce’s choice of substitution revolved around the merits of opting for an unfit, unfamiliar Sako ahead of the more defensively disciplined Mathieu Flamini – particularly as Palace appeared to possess much better shape in the first half, as opposed to their showing after the break.
Further, once introduced to the game, Sako’s level of performance were drawn into question by several Palace fans – with the overriding sense that the performance of former Wolverhampton Wanderers man was negligible and certainly weakened the side.
Here’s a taste of the reaction from Crystal Palace fans to Bakary Sako’s performance in the 3-1 loss to Southampton:
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
