🦁 Premier League Player of the Week - Eze like Sunday morning | OneFootball

Three teams are officially relegated from the Premier League which gave Crystal Palace some wiggle room to experiment.

Our Premier League player of the week is …

Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)

After his standout performances in the Championship last season, Crystal Palace were widely praised for their signing of Eberechi Eze.

But it’s been a mixed campaign for the Greenwich-born playmaker who continue his adaptation to top-level football.

There was nothing mixed about his showing on Saturday.

With Premier League safety all but secured, Roy Hodgson opted for an unexpectedly attacking line-up with Eze in a midfield three.

And that move paid instant dividends with the 22-year-old thriving in his free role behind the frontline.

It took just 66 seconds for him to make an impact, gliding through the Sheffield United midfield before assisting Christian Benteke for the opener.

That opening passage set the tone for a complete performance.

Eze completed five dribbles, made three key passes, had three shots (all on target) and completed 83% of his passes – even with ambitious forward passing and cute little flicks.

But the crowning moment came minutes from the end, which was almost worth every penny of the £15m paid for him last summer.

He breezed past John Lundstram on the touchline, drove at Chris Basham, made a fool of John Egan and finished beautifully past Aaron Ramsdale in goal.

It was an incredible solo strike and the best thing about it? Nothing has looked so easy.

The 22-year-old took on three players, ran sixty yards in the 88th minute and finished with such composure – all without breaking sweat.

“He’s had a difficult period, it’s a bit of a baptism of fire playing three games in a row against Chelsea, Manchester City and Leicester,” said Roy Hodgson after the game.

“But we know the quality he possesses, and we’re constantly tell him that we’re not going to criticise him for trying things that don’t come off. He is a difference maker.”

And make the difference he did. Crystal Palace can’t seem to shake their repeated relegation battles, but any success next term surely hinges on this silky smooth talent.