If Crystal Palace were going to improve their record as the team which had the lowest percentage of goals scored from corners this season, Chelsea were the perfect team to face. Frank Lampard’s side arrived at Selhurst Park with the highest percentage of goals conceded from corners.
Palace did score twice, through Wilfried Zaha’s stunner and Christian Benteke finishing a fine team move, but not from a corner. Again.
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Chelsea’s defeat by West Ham United last week, for example, had seen the ball in the back of their net twice from corners. They had conceded nine times from 110 corners this season before beating Palace.
No team has failed to score from a corner in the Premier League this season, but Palace have only made the most of the set-piece on one occasion, against Manchester City. Even that came with an element of fortune.
James McCarthy floated the ball to the back post, Gary Cahill jumped highest and nodded it back across goal for an unmarked Cenk Tosun to head across Ederson’s body and into the far bottom corner.
City’s defending was poor to leave Tosun without anyone on him but it would be unfair not to acknowledge the quality of the delivery and the work put in. A floated ball to the back of the area aiming for Cahill is a frequent tactic of Palace from corners, whoever is taking them. It is hardly a surprise given he stands at 6ft 4in. The idea is to execute it as perfectly as this, with someone slipping away from their marker to become free, or to get in front of their man and put it in the back of the net.
That is great in theory. But the reality is very different. Of the 165 corners Palace have won this season, Tosun’s goal at the Etihad is the only goal they have to show from them. There is perhaps a misconception about the frequency with which goals are scored from corners. Everton top the charts with 10 goals from 190 corners this season, but Burnley’s eight goals from 145 corners is the best ratio: 5.5 per cent, or a goal every 18 corners. Palace languish bottom on 0.6 per cent.
The primary taker for Palace has been captain Luka Milivojevic, with 96. Patrick van Aanholt has taken 43, McCarthy 16.
What is noticeable, perhaps unsurprisingly, is that Palace’s most successful corners were those which involved getting an unchallenged header in. There are a few which particularly stand out but ultimately the issue is that the deliveries are little more than adequate. Even when they are better, the routine has not worked to provide a clear attempt on goal.
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There are not many different routines. The majority of the corners were whipped into the middle of a congested six-yard box. Of Palace’s 165 corners, 14 were taken short, seldom for any reason other than to time waste with Palace leading their opponents by a narrow margin at the end of a game. Out of the 151 that were not taken short, a further 14 failed to get beyond the first defender. A handful were overhit straight out of play. Of the remaining corners, another 77 did not reach a Palace player at any stage — either at the initial intervention or when the ball came back out.
It is not entirely a story of failing to create chances from corners at all. Their expected goals (xG) from corners this season is 3.92, which is better than three other teams. Tottenham Hostpur, who have scored from six corners, have the lowest xG at 2.77, while Watford (one goal, xG of 3.68) and Newcastle United (five goals, xG of 3.60) are lower, but Newcastle are exceeding expectations. When analysing Palace’s efforts, there is a smattering of attempts where they can legitimately claim to have been unfortunate not to score.
Against Newcastle at Selhurst Park, in the seventh minute, McCarthy swung the ball from the left to the back of the penalty area, Cahill was able to get a run on his marker and headed powerfully towards goal, only for Martin Dubravaka to make a fine save. Van Aanholt also whipped a low corner from the right towards the front post, Scott Dann lost his marker and flicked a header in, but Dubravka saved well.
During Palace’s 1-0 victory at home to Aston Villa, Cheikhou Kouyate found himself free, avoiding the attention of Tyrone Mings and his header bounced into the ground and awkwardly for Tom Heaton to scramble behind.
At home to Manchester City, Van Aanholt’s inswinging corner found Benteke who had been left unmarked and his powerful header from the back of the area forced Ederson to tip it away.
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There is some merit to the idea that Palace have been somewhat unlucky this season, but that cannot be the only reason for a decline in their ability to take advantage of corners. In 2016-17, nine of their goals came from corners, a total of 18 per cent. A year later that dropped to seven goals (16 per cent) and last season it was four goals (8 per cent). Some of this may be explained by the absence of Benteke from the team, and lack of confidence when he does play.
The two major things to note are that very rarely, if at all, have any Palace players attacked the ball by running onto it from the edge of the penalty area. There have been occasions when players would make runs to the front post and attempt to flick it on — Jordan Ayew was unfortunate to head one straight into Dubravka’s hands in the home game against Newcastle — but never were there attempts to run in to meet a drilled corner.
Their best attempts have also come from blocking off defenders to allow for a free run or an unchallenged effort on goal. The trouble is that too often it has not happened this season. They have prioritised the ball being put into the middle of the six-yard box and at the same time had nobody attacking it, or putting it to the back post to be nodded back in. The latter approach is more likely to achieve results.
Given their struggles in breaking down opposition this season, set-pieces ought to be an area of strength, particularly given how imposing the likes of Dann, Benteke and Cahill can be.
Palace have scored 30 goals in 34 matches. They require four more to surpass their lowest total (33) since their return to the top flight in 2013-14. Their remaining fixtures are against Manchester United (who have conceded 33 times), Wolverhampton Wanderers (36) and Tottenham (44), although on Sunday they do face Aston Villa, who have conceded on 62 occasions.
If Palace are to avoid setting an unwanted record, they are unlikely to rely on corners.
(Photo: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
