Palace secure third straight home win with 1-0 Saints victory

Summary

• Vieira makes one change, bringing in Jeffrey Schlupp for Jordan Ayew
• Luka Milivojević and Michael Olise go close with early free-kicks
• Eberechi Eze produces an audacious piece of skill to find Wilfried Zaha, who shoots narrowly wide of the post
• Michael Olise finds Odsonne Edouard close to goal and the Frenchman scores, but it’s immediately ruled out for offside in the buildup
• Palace continue to dominate the first-half, and take the lead through Edouard, who turns home from 10 yards
• Half-time: Crystal Palace 1-0 Southampton
• Vicente Guaita makes two important saves early in the second-half
• The second-half is much more evenly matched, with Saints arguably enjoying the better chances
• Full-time: Crystal Palace 1-0 Southampton

Crystal Palace secured a third straight home win on Saturday afternoon with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Southampton.

The clash tested Palace's attributes across the pitch, with the first-half a display of offensive might and the second a masterclass in pragmatic game management.

The hosts started brightest and forced Saints onto the back foot for most of the first-half, looking particularly strong through an attacking line of Odsonne Edouard, Wilfried Zaha and Michael Olise, fed by Jeffrey Schlupp and Eberechi Eze.

Eze and Zaha almost linked-up spectacularly when the former back-heeled the ball over his head in an audacious trick before finding the latter, who shot narrowly wide.

Edouard was next to try his luck and Selhurst thought he'd clinched the lead when he put the ball into the back of the net, but the linesman swiftly raised his flag for an offside in the buildup.

Shortly after and a similar chance arose: this time Tyrick Mitchell broke forward along the left and squared to Edouard. There was no flag this time, and the players and fans could release the celebration they were denied minutes before.

Coming out for the second-half Palace faced a different challenge, defending against a newly energised Saints side that kept Vicente Guaita alert.

The goalkeeper performed admirably however and his back four restricted Southampton's major chances. Patrick Vieira made a few defence-minded substitutions and Palace changed tack: keeping their shape and frustrating the visitors for much of the second-half.

By the full-time whistle they had secure another home win through contrasting, but equally well-executed, halves.

Milivojević: We needed this win

18:30

"I'm very pleased with the points," Luka Milivojević told Palace TV post-match. "For us I will not say it was a must-win game but we really needed this win because we have the next three games away where we need to be ready to compete and get points before the break.

"The performance was great in the second-half when we needed to defend, compete and fight... We did it in the first-half, when we needed to create we created a lot of chances in the first-half, we just needed that final pass, final decision from our attacking players. But overall I think it was a great performance from the team."

You can hear more from the skipper below.

Ward rewarded on birthday

18:25

"Can't ask for much more, can you?" Joel Ward grinned. The right-back kept a clean sheet, ensured victory and – perhaps most importantly – celebrated his birthday against Southampton.

"It was a special day, a nice occasion and obviously it was topped off with three points.

"Today we showed our resilience from front to back to make sure we were difficult to break down and obviously came away with the three points."

Hear more from Wardy below.

Guaita: It was important to be all together

18:20

“Today was very important for us,” said Vicente Guaita post-match. “Playing at home and home is always amazing to take the points in front of the fans.

“Always when you arrive at half-time 1-0 it’s important [to have that score] at 90 minutes. Today Southampton in the last minute was a lot of pressing, but it was important to be all together Crystal Palace, all together a team, to win the game.”

Vieira: I'm really pleased

17:55

The manager spoke post-match to express his satisfaction with Palace's performance while stressing there is still work to be done.

He said: "I’m really pleased. We needed that win and I think overall it was quite challenging in the second-half. We played well and I’m really happy with the win.

"We put a lot of emphasis on how we need to improve and we work a lot on that side. The frustration is when you create chances and don’t score goals, so we have to keep working and insisting on how important it is to score goals, especially when we’re in a difficult period.

"We need to improve our decision making, working and insisting on that because of the quality of the players we have. We can combine better."

You can read more from the manager here.

'Strange game:' goalscorer Edouard

17:15

Odsonne Edouard told the press post-match he thought it was a "strange game," saying: "It was a strange game because we started well in the first-half and managed to score but the second-half was more difficult. Southampton pushed a lot but at the end we win the game.

"I think deserved the win because we managed to score first, managed to keep a clean sheet and so we deserved the win."

Read more from Eddy here.

Man of the Match

17:05

Who gets your vote?

FULL-TIME: PALACE 1-0 SOUTHAMPTON

16:54

WELL IN, PALACE! The lads hold on to full-time to secure a third straight home victory.

Their dominance in the first-half handed them a well-earned advantage, and in the second-half Palace did well to guard their lead.

That's it at Selhurst Park now until Boxing Day. A fine way to pause.

93 mins

Selhurst is in full voice behind the team here; it's a cracking atmosphere with full-time just minutes away.

Added time

90 mins

Palace will have to sustain this for an additional five minutes.

89 mins

The south Londoners are rather sat back now, with three relatively defensive changes tweaking their shape. They showed their resolve and game management against both Leeds and Wolves recently, so will be hoping to do so again today.

Saints sub

86 mins

On: Sekou Mara

Off: Stuart Armstrong

Palace sub

85 mins

On: Jaïro Riedewald

Off: Michael Olise

84 mins

Ayew again attempts to provide for his teammates along the right, but again his low cross is blocked.

82 mins

Tyrick Mitchell is shown a yellow card.

82 mins

Good work from Jordan Ayew along the right-wing to carve out a cross towards Jeffrey Schlupp. Bazunu gets down low to intercept.

Palace sub

75 mins

On: Will Hughes

Off: Odsonne Edouard

Saints subs

74 mins

On: Samuel Edozie and Moussa Djenepo

Off: Mohamed Elyounoussi and Romain Perraud

70 mins

The stadium rises to its feet to applaud Clive 'Sideburns' Waters, a former programme seller who recently passed away aged 70.

66 mins

Guaita is having a great game, holding a wriggling Adams shot low under his body.

Palace substitution

63 mins

On: Jordan Ayew

Off: Eberechi Eze

Ebs has had a brilliant game.

61 mins

Edouard goes into the book.

Off the post

59 mins

Stuart Armstrong clips the post from close range, and Joel Ward turns the rebound away to safety.

Well in, VG (x2)

53 mins

Guaita stands strong to block Ché Adams one-on-one with his chest.

Adams had broken through the backline but struck directly at Guaita.

Moments later the Spaniard pulls of an excellent stop low to his right to deny Stuart Armstrong.

50 mins

The linesman's been busy at the start of this half, with Palace flagged offside repeatedly.

Back underway

46 mins

We're back underway here at Selhurst. Palace have to show the game management they did against Leeds and Wolves to take three points now.

Breaking it down

15:52

Palace stats shown first

• Possession: 50.6% v 49.4%
• Shots: 9 v 4
• Corners: 6 v 1
• Free-kicks: 9 v 6

You can find all these stats and more in the official app.

Half-time: Palace 1-0 Southampton

15:48

That's a thoroughly convincing display from Palace.

45 mins

Mohamed Elyounoussi becomes the third Saints player to be booked. They're racking up a real rap sheet today.

40 mins

Mohammed Salisu is booked for a foul on Edouard.

GOALLL! Palace 1-0 Southampton – Edouard

38 mins

Come on, lads! Palace take a richly deserved lead through Odsonne Edouard, who turns home after a squared ball from Tyrick Mitchell.

It's been on the cards for some time.

36 mins

Palace are pushing here, with Joachim Andersen heading into Bazunu's hands.

Attempt No.2

35 mins

Olise and Edouard have another go, but this time Eddy is charged out by Duje Ćaleta-Car. The ball is deflected wide from the subsequent corner.

DISALLOWED

33 mins

Odsonne Edouard has the ball in the back of the net after receiving an excellent Olise pass, but the goal is disallowed for an offside in the buildup.

31 mins

Lyanco is booked.

And again

30 mins

Same shot, same player, same outcome. Bazunu again gets low to his right but this time Eze shot goes wide in a near-mirror image of the last effort.

Unlucky, Ebs

29 mins

A decent effort from Eze, who forces Bazunu to get low fast and block a shot heading for the bottom-left corner.

27 mins

Ché Adams hits the post but is flagged offside after some time having been very close to his own half.

25 mins

Things have settled down a little now after a dominant start from Palace, and Saints are beginning to roam slightly further forward.

Ebs-Wilf link-up

15 mins

Outrageous from Eberechi Eze, who backheels the ball over his head with one touch before finding wilfried Zaha on the right.

The Ivorian's shot skims the face of goal and goes narrowly wide of the post.

It would have been a remarkable goal if placed half a foot to the left.

Go on, Luka

10 mins

Jeffrey Schlupp does brilliantly to carry the ball forward and find Milivojević in space on the edge of the box. The Serbian's shot, however, collides with the visiting defence.

9 mins

All Palace so far as Joel Ward wins a free-kick close to the corner flag on the right-wing.

Close again!

5 mins

Olise takes Palace's second free-kic

k in succession, and forces Gavin Baunu to punch the ball away from over 30 yards out.

Close!

4 mins

Luka whips in the free-kick but sends it just over the bar. Hard to get enough dip from 20 yards.

Free-kick to Palace

3 mins

Wilfried Zaha is fouled very close to the box. Luka Milivojević and Michael Olise stand over the ball.

KICK-OFF

1 min

After a false start we're underway here at Selhurst. COME ON YOU PALACE!

Lest we forget

14:58

All inside Selhurst Park will now observe a minute's silence and The Last Post will be played, as part of Remembrance commemorations.

Proud to back Rainbow Laces

14:50

Crystal Palace are proud to back the Premier League's Rainbow Laces campaign to promote LGBT+ inclusion in football.

Everyone is welcome at Palace regardless of gender or sexuality, and the club has a zero tolerance policy on discrimination.

As part of the league-wide Rainbow Laces campaign the club has shared interviews with Women's players Leigh Nicol and Annabel Johnson, a montage of messages from staff and players, a column from LGBT+ fan group Proud and Palace in the matchday programme, and will promote the rainbow flag across the matchday v Southampton.

In the montage, players Nicol, Kirsten Reilly, Jack Butland, Tyrick Mitchell, Kaden Rodney, and staff Will Rose and Jamie Broughton express their support for the Rainbow Laces campaign. It will be shown to supporters before the game with Saints on the big screen and in the Fanzone.

We are proud to stand alongside our LGBT+ supporters at Crystal Palace.

Mitchell: Saints can punish us

14:40

“We know how good we are, we know how good we can be,” Tyrick Mitchell said in a pre-match interview. “[The Everton defeat] was definitely disappointing. We know what it takes to win games, let alone win Premier League games away from home.

“The manager spoke after the game: as a team performance it just wasn’t good enough. We were just second best in near enough all areas. That’s something we know we can do better – we’ve got a chance in the next game to make it better.

“It’s a hard game. Southampton are not a bad team, they are someone you can’t take lightly: Arsenal are top of the league, they are not and they drew 1-1. It’s a team that we know if we’re not on top they can punish us.”

Three weeks to go…

14:30

The World Cup is just around the corner, with Palace playing three away matches after today before breaking for six weeks as the tournament takes place.

Inside today’s matchday programme we caught up with Joachim Andersen and Jordan Ayew for their international memories, and explain how south London was the heart of one of the world’s most infamous crimes.

The Palace are here

14:25

Vieira on Doucouré

14:20

Patrick Vieira explained why Cheick Doucouré is missing from the squad pre-match, saying: “He is just feeling a little bit of an injury. He tried yesterday to train but was too short and the best decision was to not get him involved in the game today.

“Of course it’s always difficult when you lose an important player. But I believe as a team we have to play better than what we did last time.”

Looking at the wider game, he said: “We will love to finish the first part of the Premier League season with a win of course. We know it’ll take a long time to come back and play in front of our fans. Of course it will be about giving a good performance.”

Support Palace? Support Palace for Life

14:10

You’ll see a lot about Palace for Life Foundation around today’s match, but who are they, and what do they do?

Taking over today’s fixture, Palace for Life Foundation is the charitable arm of Crystal Palace F.C, and use the power of football and the Palace brand to help transform the lives of over 15,000 young people across south London every year.

South London is a hotbed of talent but growing up here is tougher than ever. Just last year alone:

• 30 children were killed in London, 5 of those in Croydon
• Croydon was the most violent borough of London in 2021, with 1,617 violent crimes reported
• The youth unemployment rate in London for 16-24-year-olds is 3.7 times higher than 25-63-year-olds

On top of this:

• Knife crime has risen by 60% in London in the last 4 years
• Many areas of south London we work in are in the bottom 10% of the most deprived areas of London

In the face of these statistics, Palace for Life are determined to ensure young people in our area are given every opportunity to succeed.

They’re asking supporters who can to donate the cost of a pint to keep funding their vital work. You can do so here.

A look at today’s guests

14:05

Southampton have made just one change, bringing in Ché Adams for Adam Armstrong.

Adams has netted five goals this season, more than any other Saints player.

They are suffering from several injuries currently, including to Kyle Walker-Peters, Armel Bella-Kotchap and Roméo Lavia.

Team news

14:00

Patrick Vieira has made one change to the team that lost against Everton, naming Jeffrey Schlupp ahead of Jordan Ayew.

On the bench is 18-year-old Jack Wells-Morrison, making a Premier League squad for the first time.

Palace: Guaita, Mitchell, Andersen, Guéhi, Ward, Schlupp, Milivojević, Eze, Olise, Zaha, Edouard.

Subs: Johnstone, Tomkins, Clyne, Hughes, Riedewald, Wells-Morrison, Ebiowei, Ayew, Mateta.

Southampton: Bazunu (GK), Perraud, Salisu, Ćaleta-Car, Lyanco, S. Armstrong, Diallo, Ward-Prowse, Elyounoussi, Aribo, Adams.

Subs: McCarthy (GK), Maitland-Niles, Mara, Djenepo, Edozie, Larios, Walcott, Payne, A. Armstrong.

13:55

Vieira also gave his views on Palace’s young players pre-match, with the likes of Marc Guéhi, Tyrick Mitchell, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise proving central in his squad.

“For young players coming from Under-21s or even the Championship, they will find that the Premier League is at a different level,” he said. “They will need time to build their confidence, belief and they will need to earn the trust of the players around them and keep performing.

“Look at players we got last year like Marc [Guéhi], Michael [Olise], Malcolm [Ebiowei]. This year they have the potential and the desire to compete at the highest level, sometimes they wouldn’t be able to have [the chance to compete] at those bigger clubs and that gives the opportunity to a club like ours or Southampton to bring those players in and give them the platform they want to perform.”

But do they make the squad today? Return here at 14:00 to find out.

From the gaffer

13:50

With 10 minutes until team news, find out what Patrick Vieira said before today’s game below.

"It’s not just about the draw [v Arsenal] but the way they performed,” he told the press. “They had a really good game and when you play well you’re filled with confidence. We know the team we are going to face and I always say it, every game brings challenges and we have to be ready.

"We know how difficult it is to win football matches. They will come with confidence because of the way they performed against Arsenal. Last year we played them, they were really challenging and it will not be different [this year].

"The only concern is looking at the game they played against Arsenal and the quality of the individual players and collective strengths. These are the concerns I have. It’s a big squad, a good squad, with some young, talented players."

13:45

Fans are starting to fill in now; if you’re heading to the match today, please be aware of engineering works at Selhurst station and travel via Norwood Junction instead.

You can find out more about getting to the game and how to follow here.

Looking for a third

13:35

Palace are looking for a third straight win at home today, having come from behind against both Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in recent matches.

They face a Saints side fresh off the back of an impressive 1-1 draw with Arsenal last time out, with Stuart Armstrong cancelling out an early Granit Xhaka opener.

With the table as tight as it is currently victory today would prove transformative for either side, who are both within three points of the top 10 pre-kick-off.

Matchday

13:30

Selhurst Park has been a busy stadium this month, hosting four Premier League matches in just four weeks. But that changes after today, with Crystal Palace not running out in SE25 again until Boxing Day.

First up is a chance to win three consecutive home games, with 16th-placed Southampton travelling to south London.

Stay tuned right here for everything from pre- to post-match.