When Roy Hodgson came out of retirement and returned to former club Crystal Palace as interim manager in March, his remit was simple: avoid relegation.
Taking charge of a side who were without a Premier League victory in 2023, and who had scored one goal in five matches, the turnaround in two weeks has been incredible.
TV Info - Broadcasters
Thanks to Hodgson's impact, Palace head to relegation rivals Southampton on Saturday full of confidence after back-to-back wins over Leicester City and Leeds United.
Those victories have taken Palace up to 12th, six points clear of the relegation zone.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
38 | -9 | 44 |
| 13 |
Wolves
WOL
|
38 | -27 | 41 |
| 14 |
West Ham
WHU
|
38 | -13 | 40 |
| 15 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
38 | -34 | 39 |
| 16 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
38 | -30 | 38 |
| 17 |
Everton
EVE
|
38 | -23 | 36 |
| 18 |
Leicester
LEI
|
38 | -17 | 34 |
| 19 |
Leeds
LEE
|
38 | -30 | 31 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
38 | -37 | 25 |
The seven goals scored across those two matches are as many as Palace had netted in their previous 15 Premier League matches combined.
Indeed, Hodgson's goal-per-match ratio of 3.5 is better than that of both Pep Guardiola (2.6) and Mikel Arteta (2.4).
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Against Leicester, Palace had 31 shots, the joint-most in a Premier League match this campaign, and the club’s joint-highest tally in a top-flight match on record.
Conceding just three attempts on their own goal against the Foxes, the difference of +28 was the biggest recorded in any Premier League match this season.
Palace then continued in the same vein at Leeds to equal their biggest away win in the competition, following their 5-1 victory at West Bromwich Albion in December 2020, also under Hodgson.
Their 47 shots over their last two matches rank joint-top with Manchester United, while their 16 shots on target are the joint-most alongside Manchester City.
Palace's last two matches
| Total | PL rank | |
| Shots | 47 | =1st |
|---|---|---|
| Shots in box | 34 | 1st |
| Big chances | 7 | 5th |
| Set-piece shots | 16 | 1st |
| Shots on target | 16 | =1st |
Palace's last two performances have been particularly impressive given they have gone 1-0 down each time. On both occasions, Hodgson has overseen an emphatic response.
Midfielder Eberechi Eze told Palace TV: "A lot of information was given at half-time (at 1-1 against Leeds). Making runs in behind, having more energy and winning the second ball. We took on the information well and it worked for us."
Palace scored four second-half goals at Elland Road and finished the match with 34 successful dribbles, the most in a Premier League match on record, since 2003/04.
Top Palace dribblers v Leeds
| Player | No. of dribbles |
|---|---|
| Eze | 9 |
| Olise, Schlupp | 6 |
| Ayew, Edouard | 4 |
| Guehi | 3 |
| McArthur, Andersen | 1 |
The influence of young winger Michael Olise has grown under Hodgson.
Aged 21 years and 118 days against Leeds, he became the youngest player in Premier League history to assist three goals from open play in a single match.
Olise's assist for Eze v Leeds
Was this the best of the lot? 🔥@cinchuk 💜#CPFC | #cinchit pic.twitter.com/JrL8o5I62i
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) April 10, 2023
“We want to be on the front foot and take the game to teams," said Jeffrey Schlupp, who provided the assist for Marc Guehi's equaliser at Leeds.
"We want to play games to win, not to just show up. We want to have that mindset. Everybody’s just excited to be playing again now.”