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Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge has questioned whether Patrick Vieira and Crystal Palace are too cautious sometimes in their games.
The Eagles were thoroughly beat in their last away fixture, a 3-0 defeat to Antonio Conte’s Tottenham, failing to register a single shot on target. They were, however, forced to play with 10 men after Wilfried Zaha’s red card in the first half, while Vieira was absent due to covid.
While there was that 3-1 win against Everton and exciting 2-2 draw with Southampton, there have been a few games of late where Palace fans probably would have liked to have seen a bit more going forward.
Vieira’s men were unable to score against a struggling Leeds team at the end of November, registering just the one shot on target while only seeing 39% of possession.
That was then followed up by another match where they failed to find the back of the net, a 1-0 loss at Manchester United, managing just one more shot on target than in the defeat to Leeds.
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Given the strength of Ralf Rangnick’s side, though, their lack of attacking proficiency that day was understandable.
All in all, Bridge has questioned if Palace have been too cautious under Vieira in some games this season.
On the south London outfit, the Sky Sports reporter said to GIVEMESPORT: “I just think with Palace, sometimes are they a little bit too cautious?”
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Without a doubt. While there have been a couple of lacklustre performances recently, all round, Palace have performed well this season.
Under Vieira, they have already picked up some big wins, including the incredible 2-0 victory against Premier League champions Manchester City and the 3-0 triumph versus Spurs when Nuno Espirito Santo was still in charge.
They have recruited well, bringing in Conor Gallagher on loan from Chelsea, with the midfielder being among the goals this term, and do not look to be in any sort of relegation trouble.
Now it is about being more consistent in all areas, as the Eagles have only won back-to-back games on one occasion in the current campaign, which came when that victory against City was followed up by the 2-0 defeat of Wolves.
They have drawn a lot of matches, including four on the trot earlier this season, so perhaps being more adventurous is something Vieira considers.
Freelance sports journalist covering football for GIVEMESPORT
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