Crystal Palace fans rip into star who was ‘absolutely awful’ vs Leeds
Chris Richards had a night to forget for Crystal Palace in Saturday’s thumping at the hands of Leeds United.
Palace were smashed 4-1 by Leeds at Elland Road, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ethan Ampadu and Anton Stach claiming the goals.
Justin Devenny scored a stoppage-time consolation from the spot, but it would not be enough to avert a performance that Oliver Glasner described as “embarrassing”.
Palace drew 2-2 with KuPS in the Conference League on Thursday, after making 11 changes to deal with the fixture congestion.
With the point not being enough to secure top-eight qualification, Palace will now be forced to play a two-leg Conference League play-off, in a move that has backfired massively.
Crystal Palace fans fume with Chris Richards
Palace have reportedly made progress in contract talks with Richard, with the defender becoming a key part of Glasner’s defence.
The 25-year-old has been extremely consistent for the Eagles since the Austrian’s arrival, but Saturday’s game was one to forget.
| Chris Richards | vs Leeds United |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Errors led to goal | 1 |
| Accurate passes | 35/42 |
| Clearances | 10 |
| Dribbled past | 1 |
| Duels won | 8/16 |
Richards flicked on Ampadu‘s long throw-in into the path of Calvert-Lewin to hand Leeds the opener, before he failed to deal with the header for the second, too.
And after the break, the United States international was found lacking as Jaka Bijol‘s slight flick found its way through to Ampadu for the home side’s third.
Palace fans were not happy with the performance and voiced their displeasure on social media.
One fan said it was “Chris Richards’ worst game in a couple of years at least”, slamming the defender for a “genuinely abysmal performance”.
Another said it was “the stinker of all stinkers” from the 25-year-old, with another user saying he had been “absolutely awful”.
“Time to drop Richards” claimed one Palace fan, but another admitted that such a poor performance from the defender “very rarely happens”.
Oliver Glasner furious in ’embarrassing’ verdict
Glasner’s anger following Saturday’s defeat was understandable. The Austrian had rested his entire team in the hopes of prioritising the Premier League, and he was let down massively.
The Eagles were outrun and outmatched, with the Palace boss lambasting his team’s defence of set-pieces, in particular, after the game.
“Very disappointing,” he told Sky Sports. “Couldn’t defend set plays, honestly it’s embarrassing. Couldn’t match their physicality. Today is the first game [this season] we fully deserved to lose.
“In three days we have a chance at the Emirates, against the team that is the best maybe at set plays to do it better.
After a strong start to the season, Palace have entered a difficult patch of form. Tuesday’s clash with Arsenal will provide a chance to boost confidence, although the Gunners will be in no mood to lose form themselves.