Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace 20/06/20

After seeing relegation candidates West Ham lose to Wolves, Bournemouth would have been desperate to secure 3 points against Crystal Palace. However, it took only 11 minutes to realise that this was unlikely. A freekick by Luka MIlivojevic and a goal for Jordan Ayew meant that Bournemouth failed to capitalise. Does this mark the end of their 5-year stay in the Premier League?

BEST PLAYER - JORDAN AYEW

Jordan Ayew continued what has been a season to remember for himself and Crystal Palace by adding his 9th goal of the season, already surpassing his previous best season in the Premier League. His goal was well-taken, with Ayew showing great awareness to pull away from the defenders to meet van Aanholt’s pull back. Ayew also had Palace’s 4th highest pass accuracy (85%) despite playing up front (an area usually crowded) and completed 3 dribbles and a key pass. This match was the perfect display of Ayew’s impeccable movement and quality on the ball.

WORST PLAYER - HARRY WILSON

The young winger on loan from Liverpool looked unusually uncomfortable on the ball, completing the second fewest passes of any Bournemouth player, with only a 70% passing accuracy. He also failed to complete any dribbles, make any key passes or have any shots despite Bournemouth dominating possession. His troubles continued off the ball as he made no tackles or interceptions and crucially, failed to track his man, Patrick van Aanhalt, leading to Crystal Palace’s second goal. Eddie Howe had seen enough, subbing him off at half time.

UNDERRATED PLAYER - JAMES MCARTHUR

James McArthur, a player who I’ll admit to not thinking much of myself, was crucial to Palace’s success. The midfielder won the ball back constantly for his side, making the joint second most tackles and interceptions (6) out of all the Crystal palace players. His influence did not stop there. Having gained the ball, McArthur found a teammate 86% of the time (the most of Palace’s starters), even completing a key pass to Wiflried Zaha who unfortunately missed the target. McArthur is the definition of an underrated player, someone who goes unnoticed but is crucial to their team’s success.