Despite notable omissions of Wilfried Zaha and Eberechi Eze, a Crystal Palace side still packed with regulars were dumped out of the Carabao Cup last night by Newcastle United on penalties.
Following a goalless 90 minutes with both goalkeepers on top, the tie was won 3-2 on penalties by the Magpies with Sam Johnstone unable to match Nick Pope’s heroics in the shootout.
Palace were second best to the Premier League’s early season Champions League chasers, seeing only 34.2% of the ball and registering only six shots compared to the host’s 13, it was a tough afternoon for the side but the three worst starting players for Palace according to statistical experts WhoScored, endured an even harder time than most.
Jean-Philippe Mateta (5.8)
Mateta’s performance epitomised the game for the Eagles, given the task of leading the line by Patrick Vieira, the Frenchman’s spooned strike in the first half was his and the visitor’s best chance of a goal, with it plainly obvious tonight he’s a man out of form after only bagging once so far this season.
His 20% aerial win rate was indicative of him being a virtually useless target for the Eagles and when he did get the ball he often gave it away, completing eight from a measly 12 passes, with his night later compounded by missing a terribly taken spot kick in the shootout.
Michael Olise (6.2)
Taking on the burden of being the Eagles’ talisman in the absence of Zaha and Eze, Olise failed in his role to spearhead anything despite seeing the fourth-highest amount of the ball for Vieira’s side with 2.8% of the game’s possession.
He was unable to get a shot off at all and failed to complete a single dribble or key pass as he offered essentially nothing to Palace’s attacking play before he was dragged off for 19-year-old Malcolm Ebiowei with 12 minutes left to play.
Not a display of the ages by the €22m (£19.2m)-valued star.
Tyrick Mitchell (6.5)
One man who didn’t want to put a performance in like this on the eve of Gareth Southgate’s England World Cup squad announcement was Mitchell.
A night he’ll surely want to forget saw the left-back misplace ten passes at a success rate of 57%. He failed to complete a dribble to relieve the pressure on his goal whilst being dribbled past once.
He did make two successful tackles out of three and provide an interception but his overall game was not at the level we’ve been accustomed to seeing from him, it’s outings like this that leave the 23-year-old unlikely to add to his two England caps in Qatar.
The trio’s 39 passes and one combined were certainly a sticking point behind the Eagles’ poor performance on Wednesday night.