Crystal Palace came away from Old Trafford with a vital point to show for their efforts against Manchester United on Saturday afternoon, with a handful of defensive performances enabling Roy Hodgson’s side to keep a clean sheet.
Wayne Hennessey, Palace’s 6’5″ goalkeeper, stole plenty of plaudits for a performance which his opposite number, David de Gea, would have been immensely proud of. The Stretford End faithful have become accustomed to heroic goalkeeping performances down the years, particularly since De Gea arrived, and Saturday provided yet another showing of the highest quality, albeit to the immense frustration of the home support.
In a team which is so regularly reduced to nothing more than Wilfried Zaha and Co. it was refreshing to see BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks pay tribute to Hennessey and Mamadou Sakho in his team of the week column.
The Palace ‘keepers performance was duly noted, but the praise which Crooks lavished on Sakho was equally as merited after another impressive showing from the vastly improved French international.
‘I’ve seen Mamadou Sakho have games that have had me hiding behind the sofa. He can be brilliant on his day but he can also be the master of disaster.
‘Against United he was brilliant, showing composure and leadership in equal measure. I suggest Sakho remembers every second of his performance at Old Trafford and refuses to depart from the things that made him excellent on the day.
‘It’s time he ironed out his calamities because there is an exceptional defender in there somewhere.’
That Sakho has somehow managed to keep Aymeric Laporte out of Dider Deschamps’ France squad in recent months speaks volumes about how dramatically he has improved since leaving Liverpool in 2017.
Regardless of the peculiarity associated with Laporte’s international exile, and how that directly concerns Sakho’s inclusion, it’s fair to say that Palace’s enforcer is defying plenty of his doubters this season.
As Crooks has alluded to, Sakho has been guilty of committing criminal and game-changing errors in the past, and it’s his elimination of those particular lapses in concentration which will enable him to reach the heights he is capable of.
At Old Trafford, Sakho was in the kind of form which Palace will need him to replicate to secure their survival this season, as on his day there is no doubt his presence can help to nullify some of the top-flight’s most potent attacking threats.
The sooner Sakho completes his transition from master of disaster to master of consistency the better.
Crystal Palace fans – thoughts? Let us know below!
