MY ACCOUNT
Crystal Palace’s 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday ensured that they have maintained their Premier League status for another season.
The Eagles have taken 16 points from eight matches since Roy Hodgson was reappointed as manager in March and a major factor in that uptick has been the form of Eberechi Eze.
Eze has scored six goals in that run, including both in the Bournemouth victory, proving instrumental as his side have pulled clear of the bottom three.
With Euro 2024 just over a year away, the 24-year-old has the chance to establish himself as a star for both club and country.
Palace’s jewel in the crown
Wilfried Zaha has featured in just four of Hodgson’s eight matches and has picked up another injury that could mean he never plays for Palace again, but his absence has hardly made a difference.
Eze and Frenchman Michael Olise have been inspirational figures throughout the run-in, with the former ranking top of the Premier League in completed dribbles, as well as in the top 20 for big chances created and possessions won in the attacking third.
Hodgson said: “I think with Eze, there is more support for the attacking side of our game.
“If he [Zaha] decides to go, he will be sorely missed, but there are a few more players in the wings who can soften the blow.”
With his dazzling dribbling skills and goalscoring ability, Eze is ensuring that Selhurst Park will not be without a hero.
Eye for goal
A return of six goals in eight matches is easily the best of Eze’s career.
While those strikes have come from an xG of 3.02 and a shot accuracy of 59.09% — probably unsustainable numbers — this purple patch is no fluke either.
The former QPR man is always ready to have a pop at goal, ranking 10th for Premier League shots on this run and seventh for shots outside the box across the campaign.
He also has the poise and technique to keep outperforming his underlying numbers.
All-round game
Whereas Patrick Vieira largely limited Eze’s influence to the left-hand side this season, Hodgson has allowed him the freedom to play all over the pitch.
The Palace boss said: “It’s what Eze has added to his game, not what we have added to his game.
“All we can do is try to use his talents to the full and get him into positions where he can showcase those talents. Not only offensively, but defensively, too.
“He’s a very good student in that respect — he’s very keen to pick up any information he’s given.”
England call-up
Hodgson heralding those defensive improvements will be music to the ears of Gareth Southgate, who can now count on Eze as an option to fill the third spot in England’s midfield next to Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.
The Palace man’s dribbling skills should interest Southgate in particular, considering his side’s history of failing to get up the pitch and relieve pressure against dominant opposition.
A call-up could be imminent, too, considering that Eze was set to be named in the provisional Euro 2020 squad before injuring his Achilles in May 2021 and was also on the Three Lions’ extended World Cup shortlist.
Hodgson told Southgate: “If Gareth ever wants to know what I’m thinking [about selecting Eze] he knows where to find me.”
It is obvious what the answer would be.
