Crystal Palace and Burnley played out an end-to-end game of football at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon - six goals was the result at the end of the game, with neither side separated at the full time whistle. Two goals from Christian Benteke and a single goal by Marc Guehi was not enough to take all three points in a thrilling game for the neutral.
Palace started the contest positively. With Joachim Andersen finding Christian Benteke in the area, the striker made no mistake with his left-footed strike. Wilfred Zaha was dangerous throughout the game, breaking down the left. In the 20th minute, he found Benteke at the back-post, but the striker hit the side netting from a tight angle. Burnley equalised two minutes before, with Ben Mee converting for the hosts.
They went in front in the 26th minute, Chris Wood this time the converter for Burnley as Palace continued to fight, getting back in it courtesy of Benteke again late in the first half - Andersen found Conor Gallagher with a delightful pass before the latter squared it for Benteke who slid the finish home.
The Eagles soon went in front three minutes before half time - Andersen having his header saved by Nick Pope, but Guehi was there to fire home. After a great half of football, the second followed, but brought an equaliser by Burnley in the 49th - Maxwel Cornet this time the goalscorer which proved to earn the Lancashire outfit a point. Pope was the saviour late on as Zaha volleyed the ball goal-wards from outside of the box with the keeper tipping over, to make sure Burnley clinched a point in an entertaining game of football.
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Match statistics
The game was one-sided in possession, with Palace having the better of it. The Eagles utilised the ball pretty well, but were unable to pounce on their statistical shots on target, with neither team wholly clinical and resilient on the afternoon. Burnley had 15 shots on goal during the game compared to Palace's 18, with nine shots on target to the away sides eight. The possession count for Burnley was lower with a 39 to 61% ratio at Turf Moor. The total pass count for Palace was way higher, to Burnley's 311. The Eagles also had the better passing accuracy of 80% to the hosts 68%.
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Main talking points
Palace's inability to hold onto leads was the main issue in this game in particular. The Eagles have a tendency to spill leads in the past, conceding to Arsenal of recent at the Emirates Stadium. Benteke has proven he is a real player and can make a massive impact in games, but he remains inconsistent. If he can repeat his days at Aston Villa in the same fashion, the top six clubs could be looking at him, but his end product needs to be much better. He remains a main focal point in the team for Patrick Viera.
Currently, the Eagles are one unbeaten game away from equalling their Premier League record of eight. This shows Viera has insightfully done really well and is on the up as a manager of such a club. Palace's lack of strength in aerial duals remains the biggest problem, however, having conceded on a coupe of occasions from dead ball situations. Andersen and Guehi are crucial to how they play this season, with both acting as quarterbacks with their distribution and confidence on the ball, their aerial prowess or lack of it, has cost them and the team dearly on occasions.