There were only two goals in this hotly contested and very watchable game, both headers, and both excellent. Ayew powered one in from a great cross from (I think) Olise as the first half was dying, and Welbeck's late equalizer for the visitors was perfect, looping into the upper right corner from about 12 yards out. In a pregame online poll, I picked Palace to win, based on what Arsenal did to Brighton's playing out from the back. Palace had some success with their press, but ultimately they could not maintain the energy. The draw was a fair result, I thought, though as the game wound down at 1-1 it looked as though Palace was more afraid to lose than trying to win. The referee allowed play to continue, a wise choice, because this game followed the usual pattern of chippiness and aggression. While there wer at least five cautions, they finished with 22 on the field and play flowed.
Palace has a history of losing matches in stoppage time. I had hoped that they would be able to maintain a more aggressive style at the end of the match like they did last week.
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