West Brom 3-2 Crystal Palace - 6 Things We Learned

5. Palace Unprepared

Palace would have gone into this game with some confidence after snatching a win against Spurs in the FA Cup the previous week, which makes their start here all the more inexplicable. The team were second best to everything and their pass completion percentage felt like it would have been down in the single figures at times. Footballers all have bad days and they all make mistakes but, for all eleven players to perform so terribly when they knew what was at stake, points to serious failures in their preparation in the lead up to the game. While the manager is not on the pitch with them, it is his job is to get everything right before the game and ensure that the right team is selected and that they are ready for anything. The West Brom players flew out of the traps, leaving the Palace players looking stunned. Palace were out of the game before they managed to get their act together and try to mount a comeback.