Football Season Review

№12: Crystal Palace

Palace had another solid season, despite making a slow start and looking in some trouble for the first 4-5 months of the campaign. Guided calmly by the oldest manager in the Premier League, Roy Hodgson, the Eagles had a good shape all campaign. However, the start was not good with just 2 wins achieved in the opening 13 rounds. This poor run was mainly due to the fact that the team’s main attacking threat, Wilfried Zaha, went without scoring from mid-September to mid-January. With Benteke again plagued by injuries Palace really lacked sharpness in attack early on. December turned out to be a good month though, with 3 wins achieved right before Christmas, including a famous 3:2 away success vs. Man City, which was the only home defeat for the Sky Blues. This added to the return to form of Zaha early in 2019 helped Palace to feel comfortable and pretty much safe as early as the end of February. Right-back Wan-Bissaka had a breakthrough season, with goalkeeper Guaita also turning out to be very good between the sticks, but as a year earlier, the most constant and reliable contributor once again was Milivojevic. With Hodgson staying in charge Palace should have a calm and solid structure once again next campaign. However, with Zaha almost certain to leave this summer it is yet to be seen how the Eagles will fare without their talisman.


Player of the Season: Luka Milivojevic