Premier League
Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace2StokeStoke City1

Crystal Palace 2-1 Stoke City

By Greg O'KeeffeBBC Sport
Crystal Palace players celebrate at the end.
Crystal Palace are building momentum at the right time and have their second Premier League win of the season to show for it

Roy Hodgson hopes Crystal Palace's dramatic late win over Stoke City proves to be a catalyst for their bid to escape relegation.

Mamadou Sakho's 92nd-minute winner moved the Londoners closer to Premier League safety, as he poked home from close range during a goalmouth scramble.

The Eagles remain bottom of the table but are now only three points behind West Brom in 17th.

Hodgson said: "We're delighted and I can only hope these points help us to keep building on what we're trying to do, and slowly pull away from the relegation zone and give us a chance of survival.

"I don't think we deserved to go one goal down but Shaqiri came up with the wonderful magic he's capable of weaving. It's important we responded and the equaliser was important for us. Then it was what was going to happen next. "

Xherdan Shaqiri's fine solo goal had lit up a subdued encounter and put the visitors in front on 53 minutes.

But Palace were level within two minutes through Ruben Loftus-Cheek, the England international taking advantage of lax defending to convert at the far post.

The visitors may well feel aggrieved having come so close to what would have been a deserved point.

For Hodgson, though, it is now eight points won since he replaced Frank de Boer in September.

It was a triumph of persistence for the former England manager's team, who are now gathering momentum before games against Brighton, West Brom and Bournemouth.

No place like home

Roy Hodgson praised the patience of the Crystal Palace fans afterwards.
Roy Hodgson praised the patience of the Crystal Palace fans afterwards

This game came at the end of a week during which Palace chairman Steve Parish announcedexternal-link plans for a new stadium are moving quickly.

The club have been exploring options for leaving Selhurst Park for years, and Parish said he would reveal more before Christmas.

But he would be wise to think hard about how to retain some of the renowned atmosphere their current home generates on days like this.

The Eagles were not playing especially well and seemed destined for a point, but the home fans remained noisily behind them despite their difficult start to the season.

It meant Palace were able to keep cranking up the pressure on a jittery Stoke, and eventually capitalise on their late lapse.

Parish need only look at the problems faced by West Ham after swapping Upton Park for London Stadium, and ensure his side keep some of that Selhurst alchemy.

Super Shaq needs help

Xherdan Shaqiri was Stoke's best player but needs more support.
Xherdan Shaqiri was Stoke's best player - but needs more support

Shaqiri is the type of attacking player who can light up any game.

His third goal of the season proved that - the Switzerland international carrying the ball from almost the halfway line, sashaying past Palace defenders and finishing expertly.

But Stoke rely on him too heavily - he had five of only nine shots in total from the visitors.

Manager Mark Hughes believed Shaqiri's goal should have at least earned them a point, and blamed poor defending for their defeat.

But he must address his team's issues at the other end of the field, and find more support for Shaqiri.

Man of the match - Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace)

Yohan Cabaye
Andros Townsend impressed throughout and provided the late cross but Cabaye's contribution was key in allowing Sakho to score at the end. He covered plenty of ground and created several openings, one of which Christian Benteke should have taken.

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson told Match of the Day: "It was an even contest and we've played better before. We got a bit of good fortune with the Sakho goal.

"Our fans cheered us on and they do stay to the end unlike fans at a lot of other clubs. I think that's something that will be a major weapon for us.

"If you fight to the end you've always got a chance and we showed fighting spirit."

Palace fought until the end - Hodgson

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes told Match of the Day: "We've defended poorly in the last few games unfortunately and it was the same again.

"We had two at the far post which we should have dealt with. It's hurting us at the moment. Performances have been OK up to a point but it's about getting results and that's the frustration for us.

"You want to clear you heads after we scored and instead we let them in. As an away team in the last 10 minutes you know the home side will throw balls into the box and you have to deal with them. We didn't deal with the key one well enough.

"We looked to be positive but in the end it's about fundamental defending."

Shaqiri goal should have beaten Palace - Hughes

What's next?

Crystal Palace travel to Brighton in the league on Tuesday (19:45 GMT), while Stoke host Liverpool on Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

The stats - a rare late winner for Palace

  • Crystal Palace are unbeaten in their five Premier League home games against Stoke, winning four and drawing one.
  • Sakho's goal was the first 90th-minute winner Crystal Palace have scored at home in the Premier League since Clinton Morrison's strike against Sheffield Wednesday in May 1998.
  • Shaqiri has had a hand in six goals in his past six Premier League games (two goals, four assists).
  • Shaqiri netted his 10th goal in the Premier League and the seventh from outside the box (70%) - only five players have scored a higher percentage of their goals in the competition from outside the area (min. 10 goals).
  • Roy Hodgson has won his past two Premier League matches versus Stoke as a manager, after winning just one of his first seven (W1 D2 L4).

Line-ups

Crystal Palace

Formation 4-4-2

  • 13Hennessey
  • 2Ward
  • 5TomkinsBooked at 84mins
  • 12Sakho
  • 15Schlupp
  • 8Loftus-Cheek
  • 7Cabaye
  • 4Milivojevic
  • 18McArthurSubstituted forBentekeat 45'minutes
  • 10Townsend
  • 11Zaha

Substitutes

  • 1Speroni
  • 3van Aanholt
  • 6Dann
  • 17Benteke
  • 24Fosu-Mensah
  • 26Sako
  • 42Puncheon

Stoke

Formation 3-4-2-1

  • 33Grant
  • 6Zouma
  • 17Shawcross
  • 5WimmerBooked at 63mins
  • 18DioufSubstituted forRodríguez Ruizat 74'minutes
  • 24Fletcher
  • 4Allen
  • 3Pieters
  • 22Shaqiri
  • 32SobhiSubstituted forCrouchat 67'minutes
  • 10Choupo-Moting

Substitutes

  • 11Rodríguez Ruiz
  • 14Afellay
  • 15Martins Indi
  • 16Adam
  • 25Crouch
  • 29Haugaard
  • 42Edwards
Referee:
Mike Dean
Attendance:
23,723

Match Stats

Home TeamCrystal PalaceAway TeamStoke
Possession
Home54%
Away46%
Shots
Home10
Away10
Shots on Target
Home5
Away3
Corners
Home5
Away2
Fouls
Home9
Away5

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Crystal Palace 2, Stoke City 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Crystal Palace 2, Stoke City 1.

  3. Goal!

    Goal! Crystal Palace 2, Stoke City 1. Mamadou Sakho (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal following a corner.

  4. Post update

    Attempt saved. Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Wilfried Zaha with a cross.

  5. Post update

    Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Erik Pieters.

  6. Post update

    Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Kevin Wimmer.

  7. Post update

    Offside, Stoke City. Lee Grant tries a through ball, but Xherdan Shaqiri is caught offside.

  8. Post update

    Attempt missed. Jesé (Stoke City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Darren Fletcher with a cross.

  9. Post update

    Attempt saved. Kurt Zouma (Stoke City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jesé with a cross.

  10. Post update

    Corner, Stoke City. Conceded by James Tomkins.

  11. Booking

    James Tomkins (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  12. Post update

    Foul by James Tomkins (Crystal Palace).

  13. Post update

    Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  14. Post update

    Offside, Crystal Palace. Joel Ward tries a through ball, but Wilfried Zaha is caught offside.

  15. Post update

    Offside, Crystal Palace. Yohan Cabaye tries a through ball, but Christian Benteke is caught offside.

  16. Post update

    Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  17. Post update

    Foul by Peter Crouch (Stoke City).

  18. Post update

    Attempt missed. Jesé (Stoke City) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the left following a set piece situation.

  19. Post update

    Foul by Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace).

  20. Post update

    Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

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