Match Report: Defeat At Palace Leaves QPR Mired In The Bottom Three
Saturday's early kick off saw Crystal Palace welcome QPR to Selhurst Park, with both teams needing a positive result in their bid to stave off relegation. The odds were firmly stacked against the Hoops, who had won just 3 points from away fixtures this season coming into this London derby. Palace, meanwhile, had just 1 win to their name at Selhurst Park from their last 6 in the Premier League, but were confident of adding to QPR's woes here.
Palace's James McArthur was presented with the first clear goalscoring opportunity in Saturday's early kick off. The Scot was picked out by Yannick Bolasie on the left, but a poor touch from the Palace midfielder allowed Sandro to recover and block McArthur's effort out for a corner. The resulting set piece was headed wide by Scott Dann, who moments later came close to opening the scoring for the Eagles, but nodded over at the back post. However, there was no denying Wilfried Zaha from close range with 20 minutes on the clock. Bolasie got the better of Darnell Furlong on the left, before sliding the ball across the face of the goal, which Zaha capitalised on to tap into an empty net, though he inadvertently collided with the post as a result.
Charlie Austin looked to quickly pull QPR level, but his effort from 25-yards was sliced wide of Julian Speroni's goal. Palace were the stronger of the two teams in the opening half hour, with Bolasie and Zaha in particular enjoying a lot of freedom on the wings. With the space gifted to Bolasie on the left, it was little shock to see him involved in the second goal for his team. Furlong showed the Palace wideman onto his left foot, who delivered a low ball, which was diverted into the path of McArthur by Rob Green to double the hosts' advantage. The Eagles were three goals to the good with three minutes of the first half remaining as Joel Ward cut inside from the right and found the bottom corner to net his first ever Premier League goal.
Clint Hill was brought on at the interval for Furlong as QPR aimed to save face following a disastrous opening 45 minutes, while Palace lost both Jason Puncheon and Zaha to injury early in the second half, which lessened the Eagles' tempo. As the minutes ticked towards the final whistle, Austin and Dwight Gayle tested Julian Speroni and Green, but it was Matty Phillips who scored, without question, the goal of the day, unleashing an unstoppable 40-yard drive into the top corner, though it was too little too late for QPR. Chris Ramsey's introduction of Hill did what was required to solidify the lacklustre QPR defence, but the away side ultimately succumbed to a disappointing 3-1 defeat, which leaves them 3 points from safety. It was Ramsey's starting XI that raised eyebrows in south London.
The decision to field Shaun Wright-Phillips from the off was a puzzling one by the QPR boss. Wright-Phillips made his first Premier League start since March 2013 in the loss and showed no signs that he deserved to retain a starting berth between now and the end of the season. A lack of match fitness did not aid the 33-year-old at Selhurst Park, but his showing both in attack and defence did little to suggest he still has what it takes to help QPR in their fight to avoid relegation. A WhoScored rating of 6.09 was one of the worst of all outfielders as Wright-Phillips played just 1 key pass and completed 1 successful dribble in a rare cameo.
Away from home, the widemen are expected to protect their full-backs, but Wright-Phillips did just the opposite, leaving Furlong exposed to Bolasie in the first half, which the Democratic Republic of Congo international duly capitalised on, highlighted in his 2 assists. Both Bolasie (8.27) and Zaha (8.46) ranked among WhoScored's top rated performers in Palace's 3-1 dispatching of their London rivals, which all but secured Palace's safety.
Things now though certainly look bleak now for QPR. Phillips' strike aside, there were little, if any, positives for the Rs to take from the fixture at Selhurst Park. Ramsey's side had a larger share of possession (55% to Palace's 45%), but rarely threatened when they pushed forward. 64% of the visitors' shots on goal were from distance as they lacked the cutting edge to break through the Palace backline. Adel Taarabt, making his first league start in over month, showed glimpses of class in the attacking third, playing 5 key passes, which contributed to a WhoScored rating of 6.95, but the Moroccan was often quickly crowded out by the effective midfield pairing of Joe Ledley and McArthur when he closed in on goal. This in turn limited Austin's influence in the fixture, who mustered just 3 shots on goal in the defeat, a drop in his Premier League average (4.1) this season.
Time is quickly running out for QPR, who now need a much-improved performance when they welcome Everton to Loftus Road next Sunday. "I'm hoping 9 games is enough (to secure safety) as that's all I've got. The players are disappointed. They're still unified in what we're trying to do and all we can do is keep fighting," a despondent Ramsey said following QPR's 4th successive league defeat. However, the impression is that it is only a matter of when, not if, the Hoops' relegation to the Championship is confirmed.
Do you think Crystal Palace are now safe? Can QPR stave off relegation? Let us know in the comments below
