Defiant defending and an ability to grind out narrow 1:0 and 2:1 wins against direct rivals in the bottom half of the table proved enough for Palace to secure survival even before the COVID-break. With 10 of their 11 league wins achieved against teams also in the bottom 10, Palace definitely showed that at least in the lower half they can beat anyone. The lack of goals was a major concern all season though. This was the third consecutive campaign in which the Eagles were amongst the 3 most ineffective sides going forward.
Stability in defence and midfield were the main strengths of Palace once again, with even the serious injury crisis amongst the defenders in 2020 not taking much from the solid resilience of the team.
The obvious weaknesses was going forward with Palace having the lowest percentage ratio of shots on target compared to shot attempts in the entire league. None of the forward players played particularly well, with the only constant contributor, at least in decisive games, being Ayew.
Zaha had a second consecutive mediocre campaign and the Ivorian definitely looks like a player that wants to leave the club as soon as possible. Benteke also struggled, but captain Milivojevic was once again major force in the heart of the midfield. He was equally helpful to the defensive line and to the forward players, on top of being excellent set piece taker.
Coach Hodgson hopes to get serious money for Zaha this transfer window and if he is allowed to reinvest that money and bring better forward players in, the Eagles could be looking at a fruitful 2020/21 season. If not, Palace might be one of those teams set to struggle seriously.
