Andros Townsend and Christian Benteke should step up for Crystal Palace to avoid relegation
Crystal Palace began their Premier League campaign with an impressive 2-0 over newly-promoted Fulham on opening day. However, Palace have failed to live up to the standards they set in their first game and Roy Hodgson’s men are still in search of their second win of the season.
What looked like a promising start to the season, has now turned into a losing streak of three games and things could worsen if they do not show quick signs of improvement.
The Eagles do not have an impressive goalscoring record this season, having scored only 3 goals from their 4 games. Their poor scoring record can be chalked down to the inconsistencies of Andros Townsend and Christian Benteke.
Truth be told, Benteke hasn’t looked like the menacing centre-forward who had once scored 15 goals in the 2016/17 season. Although he didn’t have the best of seasons last time around, he still managed to chip in with 3 goals and 5 assists. However, things haven’t been going the Belgian’s way this season and he has looked terribly out of shape.
Scoring goals from headers have always been his strength but he hasn’t managed to keep his headers on target this season. More often than not, he got himself into promising positions only to disappoint. The Belgian, who had joined Palace for a fee of £27million, has cut a frustrated figure on the field this term, often firing his shots high and wide.
Andros Townsend, on the other hand, hasn’t been as bad as Benteke but he hasn’t played to his potential either.
Despite registering 7 assists in the Premier League last season, the English international has blown hot and cold in patches. He has tried to utilize his pace and guile to make things happen in the final third but his efforts haven’t quite paid off.
Most of the attacking workload has been shouldered by Wilfried Zaha and the Ivorian has shown glimpses of his brilliance. However, he has often suffered due to a lack of support from his teammates. And now, Zaha’s injury has aggravated the situation for the Eagles.
Christian Benteke and Andros Townsend are two of the most senior players in the team. In fact, they are capable of turning the team’s fortunes around. However, to do so, they must put their hands up and shoulder the bulk of the attacking workload in Zaha’s absence. The duo needs to work as a pair in the final third.
Townsend, who had joined Palace for a fee of £13million, needs to be more frequent and consistent with his crosses into the box, Benteke needs to work on his positioning and final touch. The Belgian is definitely more potent than Alexander Sorloth and could be deadly once he gets going.
Benteke and Townsend require more support from their midfielders to truly work wonders. Roy Hodgson should experiment with his team dynamics and find a way to cover for Zaha’s absence. To that end, utilizing Max Meyer more often could be a good idea.
Regardless, Palace need to get back to winning ways to avoid relegation and they should fancy their chances against Huddersfield Town in the next game.
