El Chelsea is going through difficult times. Despite winning (2-3) the second leg in the It’s gray Last Tuesday, the current European champion said goodbye to the Champions League after losing 5-4 in the overall number of rooms. Now it’s up to the London team another great challenge: to play the semi-final of football’s oldest and most historic competition, the FA Cup. Besides, it’s the nico trophy that Thomas Tuchel can add to the showcases at Stamford Bridge this season.
It’s not going to be easy for the ‘blues’. If they want to go to the final they will have to overcome the enormous obstacle that is the Crystal Palace. A team that on a good day can beat any team in the Premier. The ‘Eagles’ are the ‘mighty’ of the ‘Big Six’ and they have shown it again this season.
Eye to the data: this season the Palace It is the only team of the 20 of the Premier that has not conceded a goal against reigning English champions Manchester City. As if that were not enough, I won 0-2 in it Etihad Stadiuma result that was one of the great ‘shocks‘ it’s from the season. They have also beaten both Arsenal and Tottenham this year by 3-0 at Selhurst Park.
Connor Gallagher celebrates his goal against City at the Etihad
The Magic of Patrick Viera
The Crystal Palace, whose name is due to the disappeared Crystal Palace that decorated London for almost a century, has spent the last five years skimming the middle of the table. However, this year, under the guidance of his new coach patrick vera, it seems a totally renewed equipment. A set that could fight for europe the next season.
The French have carried out a transition incredible since his arrival last August. He has ensured the permanence of his team in the Premier while he has successfully implanted his own style of offensive football, exciting and truly entertaining. A big change from the highly defensive football of Roy Hodgson in to the above.
—Patrick Viera’s famous song
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key players
The signings of Michael Olise, Marc Guehi, Odsonne Edouard, Connor Gallagher, Joachim Andersen and Will Hughes last summer have given a new impetus to the South London club. In the case of Connor Gallagher, the ’23’ has stood out a lot this season. The player on loan from Chelsea adds 8 goals and 5 assists and his absence will be a blow to Palace. The midfielder is one of three Palace players who have made their debuts for the English team this season. Marc Guehi y Tyrick Mitchel are the other two young promises who have been called up thanks to their stellar performances behind the team ‘red and blue’.
There is more good news: it seems that Micheal Olise (one of the great promises of the Premier) is going to be available after recovering from the injury he suffered playing for the French under-23 team a couple of weeks ago. The end has a spectacular lefty and has given 8 assists and scored 4 goals this season. An attack composed of Olise, scoring striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, team star Wilfred Zaha, and possibly Eberechi Eze ‘scare’ any defense in the English League. It is an attack that seeks to get out of the pressure quickly and take advantage of the speed of its wingers to attack down the wings. Chelsea’s lanes are going to have a very difficult time this Sunday.
Palace and its long history with the FA Cup
Chelsea took all three points in Selhurst Park the last time both teams met, with a goal from Hakim Ziyech in the last minutes that was a blow after Palace dominated most of the game (0-1).
The ‘Eagles’ hope that the result of the last time the two met in the FA Cup, nearly 50 years ago, when Stamford Bridge witnessed an exciting match with five goals in which the away team won by (2-3). More than 100 years have passed since their first meeting in the competition -and their first duel as professional clubs- in 1906, when the Palace scored seven goals to eliminate his newly created rival.
Crystal Palace player and former manager playing in the 1990 semi-final against Liverpool
In addition, history favors Palace. The South East London team has won the last two semi-finals that you have played in the competition. In 1990, venci 4-3 al Liverpool, a totally unexpected result after the goleada of the (7-0) ‘red’ al Palace that same season in the league. After tying at three after extra time in the 1990 final with Ferguson’s Manchester United(because of the old laws) the game had to be repeated and the London team ended up losing 0-1.
In 2016 the Palace I defeated the Watford in Wenbley to reach the final, and again played against Manchester United. It was a party that became famous for the baile of the technician Alan Pardew after Jason Puncheon’s goal. It turned out to be a dance that jinxed his team because soon after, and for the second time in their history, the eagles they fell in the final against the ‘red devils‘. Jesse Lingard put a great goal in extra time and sealed the match in dramatic circumstances (1-2).
There is a feeling among the ‘red and blue’ fans that their history in competition is a unfinished work. And this year, both the fans and the team are hungrier than ever to emerge victorious. The ‘Eagles want to go hunting… and their next victim may be Chelsea.
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