Chapter 678: Utterly Mismatched!

The Palace manager moved towards the touchline, gesturing for his midfielders to adjust their positions.

He wanted his fullbacks to provide wider options and his central players to move closer to the defenders.

For a few minutes, it seemed to help, but then Wigan found another gap.

It was almost as though Palace were trying to close a zip with one side constantly slipping open.

Every time Glasner addressed one problem, another appeared somewhere else.

Wigan were moving the ball too quickly for the home side to settle, and the second goal arrived through a familiar route.

Joe Bennett, returning from injury, had found himself in a good position on the left.

He received the ball with room to advance, took a few steps forward and looked towards the penalty area.

In the next second, his cross came in, but feeling pressured, Dean Henderson came off his line and reached it, getting both hands to the ball.

The goalkeeper, however, couldn’t hold it cleanly.

His attempted clearance only pushed it into the crowd of players gathered in front of him, and Carlo was among them.

He tried to force the loose ball back across goal, but Joel Ward reacted first.

The Palace captain stretched out a leg, attempting to clear the danger.

Instead, he redirected the ball into his own net.

For a moment, Ward stood still.

Then he looked towards Henderson, who was already getting back to his feet.

There was little either could say.

Crystal Palace 0–2 Wigan Athletic.

The away end celebrated again, while the home supporters responded with a mixture of groans and frustrated whistles.

Bennett raised a hand towards the travelling fans, acknowledging the applause for his contribution.

He had only recently returned, and getting involved in a goal so soon after coming back was a welcome boost, and with that, Wigan went into the break with a two-goal advantage.

Palace returned for the second half knowing they needed a response.

Glasner had made his displeasure clear during the interval.

His players had been unable to cope with Wigan’s pressure, and the second goal had made their task considerably harder.

They tried to come out with greater urgency, but it was like hitting a mound of jelly.

Whatever they did, Wigan were ready to respond and effectively counter.

It was like a lamp of fire meeting a sea of water.

Utterly mismatched.

The visitors moved the ball patiently, refusing to be drawn into the sort of open contest Palace needed.

They allowed the home side to commit forward before finding the spaces left behind, and Leo continued to dictate the rhythm.

There were moments when Palace tried to surround him, but he rarely gave them the chance.

He would take the ball on the half-turn, move it before the challenge arrived, or use his body to protect possession until a passing option appeared.

Even when he wasn’t directly involved in an attack, his positioning made a difference.

Palace couldn’t simply ignore him, but they also couldn’t afford to send two players towards him every time he received the ball, because that left gaps elsewhere.

It was becoming a difficult problem to solve, and in the 67th minute, Wigan made it three.

Reyes received the ball in the middle before shifting it towards the left flank.

Bennett had already started moving forward, and the pass reached him just as he approached the final third.

The left back took a touch inside, and instantly, the nearest Palace defender moved across to close him down, but Bennett had already opened his body.

He shaped to curl the ball towards the far post and struck it cleanly.

The shot bent away from Dean Henderson, who stretched, but the ball passed beyond his fingertips and tucked into the far corner.

"Joe Bennett!"

The commentator’s voice rose.

"What a way to mark his return! Bennett has been involved in the second goal, and now he’s got one of his own!"

Bennett turned towards the away supporters, raising both arms as his teammates ran over.

Reyes reached him and pulled him into an embrace, and now, high up around the stadium, the scoreline read Crystal Palace 0–3 Wigan Athletic.

Glasner stood on the touchline, looking towards the pitch with his hands on his hips.

He had already made adjustments, but Palace were struggling to find a way through Wigan’s midfield.

And Leo was a large part of the problem.

Whenever Palace tried to play through the centre, he seemed to appear in the right place.

When they attempted to press him, he found a way out.

When they backed off, he had the time to pick out a pass.

The goals were important, of course, but they weren’t the only reason Wigan were dominating.

Every time Leo received possession, the crowd seemed to sense that something could happen.

A forward pass, a sudden change of direction, a run into space that forced Palace to turn and chase.

Even his quieter touches seemed to unsettle them, and with the match entering its final stages, Wigan found one more opportunity.

It came in the eightieth minute.

Leo received the ball in the centre of the pitch with his back towards the Palace goal.

A midfielder moved towards him, while another attempted to close the passing lane on his right.

But as always, Leo shifted his weight and spun away from the first challenge, turning to face the Palace setup.

For a brief moment, he had a clear view of the space ahead.

Then almost without warning, he dragged his foot through the ball.

The pass travelled diagonally through the defensive line, threading its way between two Palace players and into the path of Willian, who had replaced Ezra.

It was an exceptionally precise delivery.

Willian didn’t need to slow down or take a controlling touch.

He simply ran onto it, meeting the ball at the edge of the penalty area as Dean Henderson rushed forward.

The travelling fans, confident as ever, rose to their feet before the Brazilian lifted his foot and chipped it over the goalkeeper.

Henderson tried to reach it, but the ball floated beyond him and dropped into the net.

Crystal Palace 0–4 Wigan Athletic.

Willian raised both arms before turning towards Leo.

"Beautiful ball!" Willian called.

They exchanged a brief embrace before the others arrived.

"Ruthless in their right, Wigan have been absolutely dominant today. What a show of attacking prowess by the tics?""

By now, there was little left for Palace to play for.

Their supporters had begun leaving in noticeable numbers, with several sections of the stands already empty.

Those who remained watched as Wigan continued to move the ball around, seemingly content to see out the final minutes.

Dawson used the opportunity to make another change, and when he did, Leo’s evening came to an end.

He had covered an enormous amount of ground, and with the result effectively settled, there was little reason to keep him on.

He walked towards the touchline, exchanging a brief handshake with his manager before taking a seat on the bench.

His shirt clung to his back, and he reached for a towel as he settled down.

The remaining minutes passed without much incident.

Palace managed a few attempts to get forward, but Wigan’s defensive line remained organised.

Amos dealt with the deliveries into his area, and the defenders cleared whatever reached them.

When the final whistle sounded, the scoreboard still read four goals to nil.

Wigan had their win, another clean sheet and three more points.

The players gathered briefly near the away section, applauding the supporters who had made the journey.

There was a noticeable difference in their mood compared to the Aston Villa draw.

This time, the performance had been convincing from beginning to end.

By the time the teams made their way towards the tunnel, much of Selhurst Park had emptied.

Several Palace fans had already left the pitch following the third goal.

The few who remained were acknowledged by their players as well as the manager, before disappearing down the tunnel.

Wigan, meanwhile, had plenty to smile about.

.....

The Crystal Palace game turned out not to be the end.

Wigan’s good mood carried into the following day.

Liverpool had beaten Sparta Prague 3–0 in the Europa League during the week, but their next assignment was considerably more demanding.

Manchester City awaited them.

The meeting between the two sides was expected to be one of the weekend’s biggest fixtures, with Liverpool looking to maintain their pursuit of the league leaders and City hoping to take advantage of any slip.

It proved to be a difficult contest.

Liverpool started with the confidence of a side that had just enjoyed a convincing European victory, but City were a different proposition.

The game remained competitive throughout, with neither side able to establish the sort of control that might have allowed them to pull away.

Both found the net, but neither found a winner.

The match ended 1–1.

For Wigan, the result was welcome.

Their victory at Selhurst Park had already given them three important points.

Liverpool’s draw meant the advantage at the top of the table had grown once again.

Six points.

After the recent pressure, the gap had returned to a more comfortable distance.