Report and reaction: Palace earn convincing win at Bournemouth

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How it happened:

• Vieira makes two changes, with Ward and Guéhi replacing Mitchell and Tomkins.
• Doucouré test the ‘keeper from the edge of the penalty area.
• Ayew nods Palace in front from a corner.
• Eze doubles the advantage from a well-worked corner.
• HT: Bournemouth 0-2 Palace
• Guaita saves well from Solanke.
• Zaha is inches from adding Palace's third.
• FT: Bournemouth 0-2 Palace

After disappointment against Fulham on Boxing Day, Patrick Vieira demanded bravery and enthusiasm from his players – and that’s exactly what he got from the opening exchanges.

Several times Palace pinned the hosts back inside their own final third, forcing errors and winning the ball high up field. They were confident in possession and firm in defence; Marc Guéhi in particular demonstrated his considerable composure as he robbed a goal-bound Dominic Solanke of possession.

For all their improvement in open play, it was from set-pieces that Palace were finding particular joy. Jordan Ayew, who was excellent all afternoon, scored the first, nodding home from six-yards after a delicious delivery.

With the momentum behind them it was only a matter of time before the advantage was doubled. This time it was Ebere Eze, hovering in space on the edge of the area and sweeping home when picked out by Michael Olise.

Bournemouth showed more attacking intent after the break and came close when Kieffer Moore forced Vicente Guaita into a stinging save; he flashed a header narrowly wide shortly afterwards.

Palace should have added to their tally, with Zaha agonisingly close to prodding home from six-yards out before seeing his effort blocked by a last-ditch challenge.

It was a vastly improved performance from Vieira’s men from start to finish, and a well deserved three points to conclude 2022.

Bournemouth: Travers (GK), Cook (Lowe, 80), Kelly, Lerma, Solanke, Smith, Moore (Christie, 80), Senesi, Billing (Dembélé, 38), Anthony, Zemura (Rothwell, 70).

Subs: Plain (GK), Stephens, Mepham, Stacey, Pearson.

Palace: Guaita (GK), Ward, Guéhi, Andersen, Clyne, Doucouré, Schlupp, Eze (Edouard, 74), Ayew (Mateta, 74), Zaha, Olise (Hughes, 88).

Subs: Butland (GK), Ebiowei, Richards, Riedewald, Gordon, Ozoh.

Vieira: I always trusted my players

17:45

Vieira says that his young squad will always go through ups and downs, but that he never doubted the quality of the players.

“It was a good team performance – we played really well,” he said in his post-match press conference. “We were aggressive and we were disciplined. When we had the possession we showed some quality and it was a good performance today.

“It was a relief for the people who doubted us, the team and the players. I always said I knew my players, I know how well they can play. Today was a good performance.

“It is important for me and everyone at the football club to trust the players we have. Especially when you have a young group of players, and players who are new in the Premier League, there will be some ups and downs.

“I didn’t believe we had a worse team after Fulham, and I don’t believe we are the best team [after] today.

“I invite everyone to be more consistent and to try and control their emotions.”

Vieira had particular praise for Michael Olise, who excelled both on and off the ball on the south coast.

“He is a young player and he keeps developing himself,” Vieira said. “Sometimes he will make mistakes tactically, and he will miss something because he still needs to grow as a player.

“What he is doing in training, I don’t have any doubts about putting him in the starting XI. Today he was really disciplined, he was playing well. The faith and trust we put in him will help him grow as a player, and that is good for us.

“We all know what he can do with the ball at his feet, but today he was really good out of possession. He won the majority of his one-v-ones, especially in the first-half.

“This is an aspect of his game we needed to improve, and you can see that it is coming.”

Eze: We knew their corner set-up

17:15

Ebere Eze says Palace’s examination of Bournemouth’s corner set-up allowed them to capitalise.

"We knew what their setup was like for corners so it was pretty simple,” he said. “We saw the spaces and that we could get opportunities from there. They didn't pick up on the earlier one so having two opportunities at it was helpful.

“We always want to continue to improve and get better. Look at our performances before and see what can be better. With the games coming up we have a good opportunity."

Despite disappointment against Fulham last time out, Eze had faith in Palace’s ability to produce a positive performance.

“With the quality we have in the team we are not worried about creating chances or scoring goals,” Eze said. “We know we have that.

“It is about matching teams off the ball and winning our duals and today that worked for us.”

Full-time

90+5 mins

That’s that – what a performance on the south coast.

Palace head back to south London with all three points, and it never looked in doubt.

Stay tuned for reaction.

90+1 mins

We will have four additional minutes.

90 mins

To immediate effect!

Hughes wins the ball back, breaks upfield and creates a chance – Zaha almost finishes but it’s blocked in the nick of time.

Substitution

88 mins

Off comes Olise, on comes Will Hughes.

86 mins

Bournemouth test Guaita from distance, but it’s straight at the Spaniard and he holds well.

“We’ve had a shot,” sing the home fans ironically. Ouch.

Chance

83 mins

Another chance, another excellent counter.

Schlupp wins it in midfield and finds Mateta, whose rasping effort flies wide from the edge of the area.

Substitution

81 mins

More changes for Bournemouth.

Off: Moore, Cook.

On: Christie, Lowe.

Chance

80 mins

Oh my.

Two of Palace’s best chances in as many minutes.

Suddenly they find themselves three on one, but a mix-up between Edouard and Olise sees the chance go begging.

Chance

78 mins

Ohhhh it could be three.

Mateta races into the area and cuts it back from the angle, where Zaha is waiting – but it’s just behind the Ivorian and he can’t prod it home.

Substitution

74 mins

Patrick Vieira makes his first change of the afternoon, and on come Jean-Philippe Mateta and Odsonne Edouard for a shake-up in attack.

Off come goalscorers Jordan Ayew and Ebere Eze. Both have been superb.

71 mins

On comes Joe Rothwell for Bournemouth, replacing Jordan Zemura.

70 mins

Palace have two corners in quick succession, and Bournemouth look shaky once again. Both break to Doucouré, and he tries his luck from the second but it’s blocked – with a hand? The referee says no.

Yellow card

68 mins

Dominic Solanke goes into the book.

65 mins

Bournemouth are certainly showing more attacking intent, but to no avail at the moment.

From a free-kick just inside the halfway line, the ball finds Kieffer Moore, but he flashes his header wide.

61 mins

The conditions really are dreadful now.

The rain is bucketing down and the wind seems to be swirling in every conceivable direction.

57 mins

Bournemouth have a corner at the other end, but it comes to nothing.

54 mins

Opportunity for Palace here, as Joel Ward wins a free-kick on the edge of the area.

Eze stands over it...

...and the 'keeper just about punches it away for a corner.

Chance

52 mins

Big chance for the hosts.

Moore is slipped in and fires first time, but Guaita is in the way. It almost drops on the head of a Bournemouth attacker, but some excellent last-ditch defending removes the danger.

Kick-off

46 mins

We’re back underway in the second-half – can Palace push on?

Half-time

45+1 mins

Some performance, that.

Palace are two goals to the good at the break and they deserve nothing less. Goals from Eze and Ayew, both from a corner, mean there is a lead to protect after the break.

Don’t go anywhere.

43 mins

Bournemouth come forwards but can’t break through, and a real hush has descended on the Vitality.

Apart from the away fans, that is.

Substitution

38 mins

Bournemouth make a change in the wake of that goal - although it may be injury related.

Off comes Philip Billing, on comes Siriki Dembele.

GOAL!

37 minutes

Bournemouth 0-2 Palace (Eze)

From. The. Training. Ground.

What a goal.

Ebere Eze fires Palace two in front, and it’s a beauty. Olise sweeps a corner back to the edge of the penalty area, where Eze is waiting totally unmarked to pick out the bottom corner.

No less than the performance has merited so far.

32 mins

Bournemouth work a free-kick well, as Kieffer Moore heads back across goal, but Guaita comes out commandingly and claims.

Yellow cards

26 mins

Two bookings in quick succession for Bournemouth as Lloyd Kelly and then Jaidon Anthony are cautioned.

GOAL!

19 mins

Bournemouth 0-1 Palace (Ayew)

IT HAD BEEN COMING!

He’s Palace’s best player in the opening 20 minutes, and now Ayew has his reward.

It’s Ayew who wins the corner, and from the resulting set-piece he rises highest to glance in a delicious cross and send the away fans into raptures.

Palace have a deserved lead.

18 mins

Palace are really simmering now.

They win it back high upfield again and Olise has an effort blocked, before Doucouré’s low curling strike is kept out.

16 mins

That’s nice from Jordan Ayew, who receives the ball with his back to goal and turns, forcing a corner. It’s only half-cleared and falls for Doucouré, who takes a touch and strikes. It hits Solanke on the arm, but it was outside the area so VAR cannot intervene.

14 mins

Eze delivers a dangerous looking ball towards the far-post from a free-kick, which Guéhi heads straight at Travers.

Chance

10 mins

First opportunity for Palace as they press well and win back possession inside the Bournemouth half.

Zaha advances on goal and is brought down on the edge of the area, but just manages to sneak a ball into Olise. His cross is headed clear, but Schlupp has space to strike from distance. It was always skewing wide.

7 mins

This is Marc Guéhi at his calm, composed best.

Solanke looks to be in after his perfectly timed run is picked out, but Guéhi uses his strength to nudge him off balance and come away with possession.

5 mins

Here come Bournemouth for the first time, winning a corner through Billing.

It’s cleared away, and the second cross is held confidently by Guaita.

3 mins

Decent start for Palace who have their first foray into the Bournemouth half, advancing down the right before the danger is cleared.

The away fans can be heard loud and clear.

Kick-off

1 min

We’re underway at the Vitality – COME ON PALACE!

14:59

Before kick-off there is a minute’s applause in memory of Pele, the Brazilian legend and all-time great who passed away this week aged 82.

14:58

The tracksuit tops are off and Palace are ready to go in their all-white away kit, with Bournemouth in traditional red and black stripes.

A reminder of the teams:

Bournemouth: Travers (GK), Cook, Kelly, Lerma, Solanke, Smith, Moore, Senesi, Billing, Anthony, Zemura.

Subs: Plain (GK), Stephens, Mepham, Christie, Rothwell, Stacey, Lowe, Dembélé, Pearson.

Palace: Guaita (GK), Ward, Guéhi, Andersen, Clyne, Doucouré, Schlupp, Eze, Ayew, Zaha, Olise.

Subs: Butland (GK), Mateta, Hughes, Edouard, Ebiowei, Richards, Riedewald, Gordon, Ozoh.

14:55

The bursts of flame pitchside are providing some much-needed warmth to those of us in the stands.

Both sides emerge from the tunnel, Palace applauding the away fans on the far side.

14:50

The players are back in - not long to go now.

14:40

The walk these players will be doing in just 20 minutes' time...

14:30

Patrick Vieira has been chatting to the media before kick-off.

“Our standard wasn’t what we expected or wanted as a team,” Vieira said of the Fulham performance. “That was just that game. I don’t want to take away all the games we played well.

“We do a lot of positive things. We know how we can be, but we know of course that we have to be more consistent in our performances. We are still Crystal Palace, and even if at times we do well people have to manage expectations.

“We are not happy with the last game we performed, and today we expect more quality. It’s not about confidence, it’s about the mental side of the game. We have some young players who sometimes it is difficult repeat those kinds of performances.

“In the Premier League you need to perform every week and if we don’t perform we get punished straight away. We know how well we can play, so it’s just about getting back to basics and being brave enough to play forwards.

“IF you look at the last game we played at home, we didn’t play well. Fulham had a good game plan, but we didn’t take enough risks, we didn’t play forward quick enough and this is what I want to see from the team today.”

14:25

The lads hve arrived...

14:20

You’ve seen the teams, now get into the detail. Have a read of our in-depth math preview by clicking HERE.

14:10

You may be spotting a new name on the teamsheet: 17-year-old midfielder David Ozoh.

Now a mainstay of Paddy McCarthy’s Under-21s side, Ozoh was thrust into the limelight on Palace’s pre-season tour of Australia where he started against Leeds United in Perth at just 17-years-old.

Signing for the club as an eight-year-old, he progressed through the ranks to become an imposing central midfielder, blessed with technical ability and physicality beyond his years.

Starring for the Under-21s this season and scoring at Selhurst Park in a six-goal thriller against Chelsea, he is crucial in Palace’s determination to win the ball back high up the park.

Team news

14:00

The lineups are in, and Vieira has made two changes to his side to take on Bournemouth, with Marc Guéhi returning to the side after suspension.

Guéhi replaces the suspended James Tomkins in defence, while Joel Ward comes in for Tyrick Mitchell – both Mitchell and Tomkins are unavailable after their red cards against Fulham.

Joachim Andersen starts alongside Guéhi with Nathaniel Clyne completing the back four, while Cheick Doucouré continues to anchor the midfield alongside Jeff Schlupp.

In attack, Wilfried Zaha and Michael Olise are either side of Jordan Ayew, with Ebere Eze sitting just behind them.

There are plenty of options on the bench with Jean-Philippe Mateta returning to the squad alongside Odsonne Edouard and Malcolm Ebiowei, while 17-year-old David Ozoh makes his first appearance in a Premier League matchday squad.

Bournemouth: Travers (GK), Cook, Kelly, Lerma, Solanke, Smith, Moore, Senesi, Billing, Anthony, Zemura.

Subs: Plain (GK), Stephens, Mepham, Christie, Rothwell, Stacey, Lowe, Dembélé, Pearson.

Palace: Guaita (GK), Ward, Guéhi, Andersen, Clyne, Doucouré, Schlupp, Eze, Ayew, Zaha, Olise.

Subs: Butland (GK), Mateta, Hughes, Edouard, Ebiowei, Richards, Riedewald, Gordon, Ozoh.

13:50

Team news is just ten minutes away...

Vieira: We have to be brave

13:40

Check out Patrick Vieira’s thoughts this week…

“We didn’t create any chances [against Fulham],” he said at his pre-match press conference. “To have a shot on goal you need to create chances, you need to play forwards and you need to be brave enough.

“If you are not brave enough to play forward it will be difficult to score goals.

“During the break you work on how you can be more consistent in our performances. The game today showed that we are still a long way away.”

The manager was keen to emphasise the need for his side to regain their competitive edge.

“There are a lot of aspects of the game we need to cover, but first of all it’s competitiveness,” he explained. “It happened during the game where you are going through a difficult period and you have to compete and try to win the second ball, and [against Fulham] we didn’t do it enough.

“We weren’t brave enough to play going forward, we played going backwards and that has to change. We have to believe more in ourselves, more in what we are trying to do.

“The quality has to be better but I think the game [against Fulham] will remind ourselves about the other side of the game: what we do when we don’t have the ball, how we win the second ball, where you put your head when other players are putting their feet.

“This competitiveness we had in other games, we need to get it back straight away.”

Past meetings

13:20

Palace suffered penalty shoot-out heartbreak on their last visit to the Vitality Stadium, after it took 22 spot-kicks to separate the two sides in a League Cup meeting in September 2020.

But in the league the Eagles have won their last three against Bournemouth, including a remarkable 5-3 victory at Selhurst Park in May 2019.

The most recent was a 2-0 win on the south coast, with goals from Luka Milivojevic and Jordan Ayew enough for three points. It had the unusual honour of being the first Premier League game to be televised by the BBC, following the restart after the outbreak of COVID-19.

Welcome to Bournemouth

13:00

The Vitality Stadium, the smallest stadium in the Premier League but certainly not short of atmosphere.

Palace will be keen to put the wrongs of Boxing Day right against a Bournemouth side struggling to find consistency.

It’s the final game of 2022, a chance to end the year on a high – stay tuned for all the latest build-up, action and reaction from the south coast.