West Ham 0-2 Crystal Palace: Graham Potter challenge made clear as Eagles continue to soar
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Graham Potter knows there can be no magic remedies to the situation at West Ham. Still, this was a sobering reminder of just how challenging he may find helping the club to turn over a new leaf. From his first three games in charge: one win and two defeats.
No such worries for Oliver Glasner and Crystal Palace. A 2-0 victory at the London Stadium marked their first derby win away from home in the capital since November 2022. Their only defeats since November 9 both came against Arsenal within the space of three days a month ago.
West Ham continue to window-shop in the January market for an immediate solution to their striker shortage, caused by injuries to Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio and Niclas Fullkrug. The Palace fans in the away end could point to their own team’s forward as an example of just what the Hammers are after right now. Jean-Philippe Mateta scored both goals and led the line adroitly.
Though West Ham slipped into gear earlier than Palace, it was the Eagles who fashioned the only meaningful chances of the first half. Mateta’s pop-shot from the right was pushed wide by Lukasz Fabianski; Will Hughes, caught in two minds, clipped a cross-shot across the goalmouth.
This lukewarm London derby didn’t even threaten to reach the simmering stage in all of the first half. For that, a quite simple explanation. In his press conference ahead of Tuesday’s 3-2 win over Fulham, Potter distanced himself from the more unwaveringly principled managers in the Premier League by insisting he is no “fundamentalist”, instead “always adapting to players’ attributes”.
