Better than Benteke: Edouard’s Palace impact on debut vs Spurs – data analysis | OneFootball

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·14 September 2021

Better than Benteke: Edouard’s Palace impact on debut vs Spurs – data analysis

Article image:Better than Benteke: Edouard’s Palace impact on debut vs Spurs – data analysis

Odsonne Edouard had a dream debut for Crystal Palace as he came off the bench to score two goals in their 3-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur. Crystal Palace signed Edouard from Celtic on deadline day and the French forward made an immediate impact, coming off the bench to score twice in the final 10 minutes to put the game to bed. Edouard scored 86 goals in 179 appearances for Celtic and has had an impressive goalscoring record in the Scottish league.

His perfect start for Palace saw him become the first player to score twice on his Premier League debut as a substitute since Sergio Aguero for Manchester City in August 2011 against Swansea.


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Crystal Palace failed to score a single goal in their first two Premier League games and Conor Gallagher scored both of their goals against West Ham. Their attackers had failed to score a goal before this Spurs game. Edouard has come to Palace to end their goalscoring woes as their attackers have not been clinical in front of goal. Edouard was brought onto the pitch in the 84th minute and needed only 28 seconds to score his first goal for Palace to open his goalscoring account in the Premier League.

From the above visual we can see their striker Christian Benteke only managed one shot on target and recorded a low xG of 0.11. While Edouard had two shots on target and scored from both his attempts.

Article image:Better than Benteke: Edouard’s Palace impact on debut vs Spurs – data analysis

Edouard received the ball only four times in the 10 minutes he got on the pitch. He converted both passes he received from his players inside the penalty area and this indicates his instinct to be in the right positions at the right time and also quick thinking in front of goal. He has a more direct approach to the game and Palace can rely on him to create chances in various ways.

Christian Benteke has had a poor start to the season as he has only managed five attempts on goal in four matches and has failed to get a single shot on target. The highest xG recorded by him was 0.11 in the games against West Ham and Spurs. In the case of Benteke, Palace have always focused on providing crosses into the box through set pieces or corners which explains why he is involved in more aerial duels. But Vieira has been approaching a possession-based game since the beginning of the season and trying to rotate the ball more, while searching for opportunities to play the final ball.

A young striker like Edouard can be more helpful to suit this type of gameplay as he can make more runs behind the opposition defence. While Benteke has been a crucial player as he is involved in most of the build-ups for the goals they score even if he is not the one scoring and has been impressive for Palace in the past few years, they can look forward to the impact caused by Edouard in his first game.

Crystal Palace had only earned a point from their first two games, but have won four points in two games against two teams in great form and scoring five goals in the process. The spirited comeback against West Ham and a brave performance against Spurs will certainly boost their confidence levels.

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