We knew what Crystal Palace would be facing when we travelled up to Lancashire to face Sean Dyche's Burnley side, but just knowing isn't enough. Burnley are incredibly effective at making life for their opponents difficult, especially at set-pieces, and Palace learnt the hard way. 

 

Having taken an early lead with some incisive football and a clinical Christian Benteke strike, Burnley hit Palace with a set-piece double-whammy in quick succession -- first with a Ben Mee header and then with a Chris Woods header. Both were well-worked Burnley goals, with a touch of Palace's lackadaisical approach to corner-defending thrown into the concoction. 

 

From a Palace perspective, these were avoidable goals, but it was Burnley's pressure and direct approach that put Palace on the back foot whenever an opportunity came for the Clarets to put the ball into the box.

 

Post-match, much of the focus seemed to be on Palace's centre-back pairing but when it comes to set-pieces, defending is a team effort and it was the team that failed to prevent Burnley from scoring two of their goals from them. 

 

 

 

 

There was a time where the only goal you'd expect Christian Benteke to score was a header, and the discussion about creating chances focused on the lack of crosses into the box. 

 

But this season, Benteke's threat has become more rounded as the striker has found a level of shooting confidence not seen since his initial signing.

 

Where once he would struggle with his first touch and would delay taking a shot, often to his own detriment, he is now showing that instinctive eye for goal. His first goal at Turf Moor was a clinical effort off the post having done well to control the pass into him, and his second showed awareness and readiness to take the chance when Conor Gallagher presented it to him. 

 

Disappointingly, the Belgian could have scored a second soon after Burnley went 2-1 up but he headed a wonderful Gallagher cross wide of the mark when most would have expected him to score it. 

 

This Benteke form is a reward to the striker for his persistence, Palace's decision to put their faith in his abilities and the fans' continued support for him during some of his darkest days. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This has been a revelatory season for James McArthur. The Scotsman has rolled back the years and become an integral part of Patrick Vieira's midfield. His injury, the severity of which has not yet been disclosed, is a conundrum that Palace must find an answer for. 

 

Against Burnley, the aim seemed to be to give Gallagher that continued free role, with Cheikh Kouyate filling in for McArthur and Luka Milivojevic taking a defensive sweeper role. While Palace controlled much of the midfield play, Kouyate at times struggled to do what McArthur has done so well -- to break through the opponent's midfield press and find options further up the pitch. 

 

This became more obvious in the second half, where in one incident, Vicente Guaita and Joachim Andersen waited for a midfielder to show for a pass, as McArthur has done so regularly this season, only for that not to come. 

 

Palace fans will wonder where Will Hughes fits into this system, and perhaps the game against Aston Villa will provide an answer to that question. 

 

The xG Battle

 

Next Up: Aston Villa at Selhurst