3 positives & negatives from 1-0 Crystal Palace victory

Positive #3: Winning ugly

As we have all heard far too many times, teams that win silverware possess the ability to win ugly. Grinding out victories when you’re playing poorly, or overcoming adversity, are both signs of champions, and we demonstrated both against Palace.

Of course, we would all rather win 5-0 every game, but that is not realistic, and there will always be matches in which the team is made to work for the three points. A 1-0 victory away from home is never a bad thing, and helps to build some much-needed momentum for the rest of the campaign.

Negative #3: Takehiro Tomiyasu red card

First of all, I want to be clear that the biggest negative of this situation was the officiating. Many fans would agree that neither of Tomiyasu’s two transgressions were deserving of a cumulative sending-off.

However, the 24-year-old must take a portion of the blame for providing the referee with a decision to make in the first place. His first yellow for timewasting is harsh, yet ultimately should be accepted given the new rules put in place, and once he receives that card, misreading the fight of a ball and then tugging on a shirt, however softly, is naive.

He should not have been sent off, but Tomiyasu only has himself to blame for his dismissal.