Palace were the more dangerous side tonight, and if anything the draw was a lucky one for the Gunners. Both teams had some nearly moments, both keepers made great saves, and there was some spectacle in this contest, but neither side looked especially sharp. The managers picked strong teams, so that wasn't it. Maybe both were focused on their upcoming season-defining semifinal games. If Arsenal play like this on Tuesday, they'll be swept away by PSG; and if Palace play like this, Villa will beat them on Saturday.
Sterling showed once again what a mistake it was to get him on loan. He did squat. Odegaard was in poor form; it was down to him that we lacked incision. Saliba made another error as bad as the one that Vinicius Jr punished a week ago, and it cost us two points when Mateta cashed in on the giveaway with a splendid chip over Raya, who once again was playing far out of goal. Mateta is the Palace player I most covet, but I'd take Eze. All the goals were nice, and some of the saves, blocks, and the disallowed goal featured sharp play that could have been rewarded. But there were many stretches of play consisting of passes around the back leading nowhere, so it was more a case of frequently punctuated boredom.
I was happy with a draw. Neither team could afford to make winning this match their top priority of the moment, and it turned out to be a more entertaining game than might have been expected, given the circumstances. Saturday indeed is the big day this week for Palace, as is Tuesday for Arsenal.
ReplyDeleteCP did quite well against AV, winning 3-0.
ReplyDeleteI was delighted with that result. Fingers crossed that you win the final.
ReplyDeleteThe best of luck on Tuesday. Your past record against PSG suggests you usually do well against them.
ReplyDelete