In a huge six-point clash at the bottom of the table, Ipswich Town were beaten by a determined Crystal Palace outfit with a solitary goal. The Eagles knew the importance of this fixture and used their experience in the Premier League as Mateta chipped Muric to give them the lead. Once they had the lead, it was all about protecting it. With a flurry of defensive changes, Glasner made sure that they took all three points home.
Crystal Palace had a strong start to the first half with Eze pulling the strings constantly. The English international was the first out ball for his side out of defence and combined with Mateta excellently. He should have scored after being put through on goal by Mateta. However, it was Chalobah who had the best chance via a header to give them the lead. Ipswich were chasing Palace for the majority of the half.
A half-time team talk and shifting Hutchinson to the right seems to have solved the issues for Ipswich as they started the second half with more purpose. Delap had their best chance of the game but headed it straight to Henderson. Once Mateta got on the end of Eze’s pass down the field, he shrugged off Greaves and lobbed the ball past an onrushing Muric to seal the result. This win gives huge relief to Palace as they steer 3 points clear of the drop zone. Ipswich are fast running out of time to change their fortunes.
Ipswich Player Ratings vs Crystal Palace
Goalkeeper
Arijanet Muric: 6.5/10- Was in the way of Eze’s shot late in the first half. Has Burns to thank for taking the sting out of the shot. However, he was beaten by a smart finish from Mateta.
Defenders
Harry Clarke: 6.5/10- Facing the dangerous duo of Eze and Mitchell, Clarke had his hands full in defence. He never had the freedom to attack and did his best in defence.
Dara O’Shea: 7/10- Picked up a yellow card early on in the first half. He had to walk a tightrope after that. Tried to score from outside the box with an ambitious effort. Tried to hold the fort in the second half before Palace’s goal took the steam out of him.
Jacob Greaves: 7/10- A first league start in nearly two months and he has looked as comfortable as ever. Put his body on the line to block a few shots. He could’ve posed a better threat from set pieces. He was powerless against Mateta as the French international shrugged him of with ease.
Leif Davis: 7/10 – Constantly forced the issue by running the channels. Tried to fire crosses into the box on many occasions but it didn’t really work out for him.
Midfielders
Sam Morsy: 6/10 – The captain put up a spirited performance in the middle of the park. Should have been a bit bolder with the ball as Ipswich lacked central progression.
Jens-Lys Cajuste: 5.5/10- The Swedish midfielder was a passenger for most of the game. He found it hard to keep a track of Palace’s transitions and did not offer much on the ball as well.
Wes Burns: 6/10 – The 30-year-old Welsh wideman struggled for fluency in attack. He struggled to create anything meaningful and was substituted for newer and better ideas.
Omari Hutchinson: 6.5/10 – The most dangerous player for the home side. Every time he got the ball, it felt like something was about to happen. However, he missed the quality in the final third to make a real difference.
Jack Clarke: 7/10 – He combined with Leif Davies really well to ask some tough questions of the Palace defence. Ultimately it was never enough as he couldn’t find a way past Munoz. Munoz even kept pinning him down with dangerous runs on the right.
Attackers
Liam Delap: 6/10- Had a very frustrating outing tonight as he was marked out of the game by Lacroix. He got very little service in the first half and had a header in the second half straight at Henderson. Was looking to drop deep and create but Lerma handled him there too. Was subbed off as it was getting ugly for him on the field.
Substitutes
Conor Chaplin: 5/10- His arrival allowed Hutchinson to be shifted to the right wing. Well, that’s the best that could be said about him tonight.
Jack Taylor: 6/10 – A desperate bid to force the issue but it wasn’t working for him
Nathan Broadhead: 6/10 – He saw very little of the action except an odd transition on which he failed to capitalise.
Ali Al Hamadi: N/A
Manager
Kieran McKenna: 5/10- The manager knew the importance of this game in the fight for survival and set it up positively as well. But his team were second-best throughout the game. It looked like his halftime talk has worked as Ipswich started the second half strongly. However, once Palace scored there was no way back into the game for his side. McKenna’s substitutions did little to change the inevitable.
Crystal Palace Player Ratings vs Ipswich
Goalkeeper
Dean Henderson: 7.5/10 – The English goalkeeper made a fine stop from Delap’s header early in the second half. He was pretty much a spectator in the first half. Henderson had to keep his focus to see out the game with a clean sheet.
Defenders
Marc Guehi: 7.5/10 – The skipper sat on the left of a three-man back line like always. He was the quickest to come across and aid his colleagues whenever Delap broke free. He is adding more and more threat from set pieces with every single game passed.
Maxence Lacroix: 8/10- He had to be at his best to deal with the threat of Delap down the middle. Strong in the air and on the ground he just about did the job.
Trevoh Chalobah: 6.5/10- Dealt with the threat of Leif Davis well. Is happy to defend the channels and had a lot of freedom to play the ball forward. Had Palace’s best chance in the first half after fellow centre-back Guehi sent the cross in.
Midfielders
Daniel Munoz: 7/10- Munoz had the most freedom of the midfield four to attack. He almost played as a right winger and even beyond Sarr sometimes. Decision-making in the final third has to be better as he could’ve played Mateta through on goal.
Will Hughes: 7/10 – Never afraid to do the dirty work for his side. Breaking up play and biting into tackles, Hughes was cautioned after a poor challenge in the second half. Was taking set pieces but couldn’t clear the first man most of the time.
Cheick Doucoure: 6/10- The defensive midfielder is just returning from an injury layoff and it clearly showed on the pitch. He was rusty with the ball early on and had his pocket picked. He even got booked and was lucky to avoid another yellow card. An obvious decision was taken by the manager to protect him by swapping him for Lerma.
Tyrick Mitchell: 7/10 – Mitchell was providing constant support to Eze in his attempts to break the defence down. His influence in attack waned off in the second half as the main priority was protecting the lead.
Attackers
Eberechi Eze: 8/10 – Eze is Palace’s go-to man on the ball. Always looking to create and score, he had a great linkup with Mateta. He should have scored in the first half when he was slipped through by Mateta. However, he returned the favour by playing in Mateta for the winner.
Ismaila Sarr: 6/10 – The most anonymous of the front three for Palace. Sarr with his pace should have caused problems to the left-hand side of Ipswich as Leif Davis was pushing forward constantly. The Senegalese international however was unable to break through.
Jean-Philippe Mateta: 8.5/10 – A supreme finish to give Palace the lead. The striker dropped deep as he did all game long and got on the end of a reverse pass from Eze. He shrugged off Greaves before chipping Muric with his left foot.
Substitutes
Jefferson Lerma: 7/10 – Lerma added a sense of calm to the Palace midfield after coming on at halftime. He won the ball once from Delap and stamped his authority on the proceedings. Tidy with the ball, he kept things ticking as Palace seized control of the game.
Justin Devenny: 6/10 – On to replace Eze with a quarter of an hour to go. Needed to be the link between attack and defence as they tried to score a second.
Chris Richards: 6/10- To counter Ipswich’s fresh legs on the left-hand side, Richards was introduced to replace the tiring Chalobah. The American did his job to get the result.
Eddie Nketiah: N/A
Manager
Oliver Glasner: 7/10 – It looks like the Austrian has finally gotten his front three right this season. Eze and Mateta linked up incredibly well to his delight to get an all-important winner. Glasner’s substitutions were on point as well to get the result. He will be hoping to take this form and turn the season around soon.
FAQ’s
When did Ipswich Town last win at home in the Premier League?
Ipswich’s last home Premier League was in April 2002 as they beat Middlesbrough FC 1-0.
What was the result of Ipswich vs Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace won the fixture with a scoreline of 1-0.
Who was the player of the match in Ipswich vs Crystal Palace?
Jean-Philippe Mateta was the player of the match in Ipswich vs Crystal Palace.
Who was the worst player in the match between Ipswich and Crystal Palace?
Liam Delap was the worst player on the pitch in Ipswich vs Crystal Palace.