Just back from the game.

Yes Eze was poor today. Undoubtedly an exceptional player but was way off it today. Misplaced passes, caught in possession or tackled numerous times and another glaring one on one miss that should’ve put us two nil up and the game to bed.

He wasn’t the only one guilty of misplaced passes and in the first half we gifted the ball back to Villa when we were well placed, time and time again.

Joel was back to being turned inside out again and gifted them an absolute sitter on 18 mins that Johnstone did brilliantly to keep out.

Richards did well but we missed Guehi…similarly Hughes did well but we missed Lerma.

Schlupp ineffective going forward and also him, Ward and Mitchell could not work out how to close down their wide players with Cash & Digne given way too much time and space. If anything I thought Schlupp looked like he was knackered from only 30 mins in.

Mateta did ok and provided a great early cross for our goal but his first touch lets him down far too often for a Premier League player.

Ultimately we paid the price for not being 2-0 up - Eze the main culprit but Ward also missed a sitter when an Andersen knock back put it on a plate for him. Then in the 87th minute some poor defending from Mitchell let Jhon Duran cushion the ball on his chest and get a shot off unchallenged. Why do we switch off like that and concede so many late and costly goals?!

I haven’t seen the penalty / VAR decision yet but Im prepared for MOTD to p*ss me off even more when I do see it.

Back full circle to my opening remark and the point I was responding to made by by palace chick, yes Eze is a great player but he’s not beyond reproach, especially when he has such a poor and error-strewn match such as today.

Edited by Phil’s Barber (16 Sep 2023 10.21pm)

On the bright side, we were well organized despite Roy's absence. Except for Richards' almost being caught on the offside goal that was erased, he played well. (Not as well as Guehi, but few do.) Mitchell played his best game in recent memory – one stunning moment excepted. (To be fair, no one's perfect and the goal was near-perfect.)

As others have pointed out, losing Ayew so early put more pressure on Ward, who will be targeted throughout the season. With fresh legs, he remains stout. Stalwart. By the 60th minute, or after a run of games, he is inevitably vulnerable. In the future, we should be bringing Richards in for Ward in the final 20-25 minutes. What Richards lacks in confidence/experience, he'd make up for in pace and athleticism.

Lack of depth hurt us. Schlupp, Ward, Hughes, Edouard, Mateta – almost everyone, really – ran low on energy by the 75th minute. The ref ran low on energy, too. At the beginning of the match, he might been clear-headed enough to listen to VAR and reverse his call.

Comprehensive and from my recollection, an accurate account of the match.

There were a lot of subpar if not disastrous performances today which you may get away with occasionally but frequently will not.

We’ve a number of key players missing with a thin squad as it is, let alone our manager succumbing to bad health before kick off, but for my money it’s a very poor decision for the penalty which ultimately decided our fate.

Now Zaha's got a bit of green grass ahead of him here... and finds Ambrose... not a bad effort!!!!

How the hell has he stuck by that decision?!

You only need to watch the replay once to see that there is no foul and that Richards touches the ball twice and gets in a great challenge.

Absolutely shocking decision!

Can only think he is trying to be the one who doesn't do what VAR tell him, wonker

Responsibility Deficit Disorder is a medical condition. Symptoms include inability to be corrected when wrong, false sense of superiority, desire to share personal info no else cares about, general hubris. It's a medical issue rather than pure arrogance.

Yes it was a woeful penalty decision, however I expect we would have somehow contrived to let Villa grab a winner in some other way before the extra time was through.

The facts are that - yet again - we fail to put clear chances away and - in true Palace style - we have no idea about 'managing a game' when ahead i.e. niggly, rotation fouling, breaking up play and general disruption. You remember - what Arsenal managed to do to us with just 10 men against our 11.

Palace since 19 August 1972. Palace 1 (Tony Taylor) Liverpool 1 (Emlyn Hughes)