Crystal Palace probably wish they could play all 38 of their Premier League games away from home this season. Since Alan Pardew took over from Neil Warnock in January, Palace have won eight of their 10 top-flight encounters away from Selhurst Park, an outstanding record for a club of their size.
The latest success came at Stamford Bridge last month before the international break. Palace ran out 2-1 victors after a fine, all-round performance against champions Chelsea.
It was a result that leaves Pardew’s side second in the table after four matches; triumphs against Norwich City, Aston Villa and last season’s Premier League winners putting a club who almost went out of business five years ago ahead of heavyweights Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.
The most impressive thing about the win at Stamford Bridge was the manner in which Palace achieved it. While the visitors arguably benefited from a slice of luck, it was far from a plucky smash-and-grab victory. Palace were the better team, combining solidity at the back with an attacking threat going forward. They created the best chances, too, Yohan Cabaye and Yannick Bolasie spurning gilt-edged opportunities either side of half time.
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Defeating Chelsea on their own patch is just another measure of the strides Palace have taken under the guidance of Pardew, who must be revelling in the adoration shown to him by the Selhurst Park faithful after enduring a difficult relationship with the fans of his previous employers, Newcastle United.
The 54-year-old Englishman, who was born in south London and spent four years at Palace as a player, has created a bold and daring side who are always willing to take the game to the opposition.
Integral to that approach is the trio of wingers, Yannick Bolasie, Wilfried Zaha and Bakary Sako, who provide pace, power and trickery on the flanks. With Yohan Cabaye and Jason Puncheon adding a dash of more subtle inventiveness to their play, Palace are one of the most exciting teams to watch in the division.
“We’ve added new players, but we haven’t lost the spirit that we have,” Pardew said after the Chelsea game. “We’ve definitely got better technicians, so if we can keep the same spirit that’s been here for three years, that bodes well for us going forward.”
That spirit is perhaps best epitomised by Damien Delaney, the rugged centre-half who almost quit the game before joining Palace in 2012. Delaney, 34, has gone from strength to strength since achieving promotion in his first season at the club, and was outstanding in his personal duel with Diego Costa at Stamford Bridge.
Alongside Delaney, fellow promotion-winners Bolasie, Zaha, Mile Jedinak, Julian Speroni and Joel Ward remain important members of the first-team squad. Palace possess a solid core of players who provide a degree of continuity when newcomers are brought in.
As Pardew alluded to, recent additions Sako, Cabaye, Pape Souare and Connor Wickham have all added quality to the side, but it is significant that the pre-existing sense of togetherness and collective identity has been retained.
Manchester City are the visitors to Selhurst Park this Saturday. Manuel Pellegrini’s table-toppers will not be in for an easy ride, however. Palace have taken 40 points from a possible 66 since Pardew was installed in the dugout at the start of the year, just five fewer than City, a club with title aspirations who have spent almost £150 million (Dh835.7m) this summer, in the same period.
These are heady times for Palace and their manager, whose stock has never been so high.
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