With five consecutive away wins and only 5th place on goal difference in 1 game short, Arsenal's away to Crystal Palace in the early hours of April 5 was clearly a must-have for three points. However, after 90 minutes of the game, they are still standing still in the standings, the goal difference is 3 less, and the Gunners fans are estimated to have 10,000 alpacas roaring by.
The two teams met in the first leg of the season, with Arsenal drawing 2-2 at home to Crystal Palace, Lacazette completing a second-reading draw in the fifth minute of injury time, and the Gunners scored an incredibly difficult one point. Prior to this campaign, the Gunners had won six of the Seven Premier League games in good form, Crystal Palace had played three Premier League home games since February and scored only 2 points and scored only 1 goal, and the balance of victory was clearly tilted to the Gunners' side. Only this time, Tarsier was obviously pinched by his team's senior, Vieira.
As the gunners' former two captains, Arteta and Vieira are only long-standing but do not intersect, The Manager only joined the Gunners from Everton in the summer of 2011, Vieira has left the team as early as the summer of 2005 to play for Juventus in Serie A, this season is his first time coaching a Premier League team, in terms of coaching qualifications, Vieira is far less prominent than the player era. But that didn't delay his grip on the Tartar in this game.
The Gunners players are young and powerful, and once they are driven crazy, even Manchester City is a headache. For this youth army, Vieira's solution is to strengthen the midfield rush and disrupt the rhythm of the Gunners' game. Under the hard bridge and hard horse scramble of the Crystal Palace players, a bunch of hairy guys of the gunners were indeed a little dazed, and the smooth delivery in the past also became stumbling. As for Lacazette, the Gunners' frontcourt attacking fulcrum, Crystal Palace also used the chase and interception defense to sever the connection between him and other Arsenal players, leaving the French striker in a close-quarters fight with the defender and unable to get out. After doing this, Crystal Palace's attack began to threaten, and the way was simple, set-piece + quick counterattack.
In the 16th minute, Crystal Palace won a free kick on the left side of the front, Gallagher scored into the box, center-back Anderson received the top of the road, center Matta scored the first record with a header undefended, two big men with a height of 1.92 meters joined forces to break the deadlock for Crystal Palace, and the Gunners did not even rub the ball in this defense.
Just eight minutes later, Anderson sent a long pass from the back, Gabriel stretched out his foot to intercept a person, and Ayew stopped the ball and knocked on Ramsdale's ten fingers from the edge of the penalty area. The whole scoring process is simple and smooth, without dragging mud and water. Manchester city centre-back Laporte is expected to feel a bit of déjà vu after seeing the goal.
In the following time, the Gunners began to fight back hard, Lacazette and Saka fell to the ground in the penalty area, but the referee was indifferent, in the case of a long time, the Gunners' back line went wrong again, in the 72nd minute, Zaha carried the ball into the box to play a Lü Bu battle three Heroes, the young and energetic Erdegao could not see it and crossed a foot, the experienced Zaha fell to the ground, the referee whistled and pointed to the penalty spot, Zaha personally took the penalty shot, the score expanded to 3-0, the Gunners had gone.
In this campaign, Crystal Palace only had 31% of the ball, but it scored 3 goals on 6 shots and 5, and the Gunners had nearly 70% of the ball and 11 shots on goal, but ultimately achieved nothing. Crystal Palace's victory was the same as the previous 2-0 upset win over Manchester City, except that Guardiola's side was even worse in that game, when they lost centre-back Laporte before half-time, who was sent off with a red card for twice being yellowed. It seems that Vieri is still very good at killing.
However, what makes the Gunners even more angry than losing the game is the sudden deterioration of the prospect of competing for four. Before this campaign, they shared the same points with Tottenham Hotspur in two games less, and the initiative was in their hands. But now not only has not completed the counter-overtaking, but the goal difference has been reduced by 3. And in the later games, the Gunners also had to have direct dialogue with strong teams such as Chelsea, Manchester United, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, which can be described as a thrilling step.
However, this result has blossomed for Manchester United, as they are now only one more game behind by three points, and if they can win in a direct conversation with Arsenal, this disadvantage will disappear completely. Of course, Manchester United also have to play against strong players such as Liverpool and Chelsea, but in any case, the initiative is finally back. This season's four major dramas are really no worse than the championship competition.