All eyes were on Selhurst Park when West Ham visited on Monday. Were they driven purely by Spurs-schadenfreude, or a pure love of the Premier League? We cannot say for certain. Although we can lightly speculate that only Crystal Palace and Tottenham fans had a vested interest in south London defeating east.
Naturally, the dampest of damp squibs was duly delivered. As only Burnley have scored fewer goals at home in the league this season, perhaps it is not completely surprising – even if the club has been in good form.
However, as an avid point-respector and defensive-football advocate, it is worth giving some credit to those players in the back line in such a stalemate.
It was only at the start of March that I had discussed the patience that may be required with leaning on a young defender, Jaydee Canvot. Seven weeks on, that thought process may have been far too cautious.
Having clocked over 1,000 minutes across all competitions since the start of February, his development has been rapid. Looking at players born in 2006 or later, only six in the Premier League have played more minutes this season. Given that list contains talents such as Newcastle’s Lewis Miley and Bournemouth’s Junior Kroupi, it is not bad company to be in at this stage.
The improvement has been on two fronts.
Firstly, the partnership with Tyrick Mitchell on the left side of the defence, as shown against Jarrod Bowen, has been capable of matching up with threats down that flank in tandem – something that was always taken for granted when Marc Guehi was in that spot.
More impressive have been the improvements displayed in possession, especially as Oliver Glasner's formation places a lot of pressure on the outside centre-backs to progress the ball. The growth and confidence in that area have been encouraging, a stark contrast to the start of the season.
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