Considering Sean Dyche’s penchant for lookalikes he will have enjoyed Matt Lowton’s Cafu impression as the right-back completed a move he started to score his first goal in more than five years as Burnley dismantled a dismal Crystal Palace.
Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Jay Rodriguez set Burnley up for victory in the first 10 minutes, before Lowton’s goal of the month contender just after the break. But that merely added gloss to a comfortable outing in south London against a Crystal Palace side lacking composure and competence at both ends.
“What a goal,” Dyche said of Lowton’s strike. “He has come back in to the lads and been given a round of applause.”
The Burnley manager saved special mention for his assistant, Ian Woan, after his father, Alan, who once played for Palace, died overnight aged 90 following complications relating to Covid. “We would like to dedicate that [the win] to him, with his permission. He has done brilliant today, Woany, coming down, it’s what his dad would have wanted.”
With Wilfried Zaha unavailable, Roy Hodgson tried to counterbalance the lost attacking threat by starting three strikers; Jordan Ayew operated on the right of midfield with Michy Batshuayi and Christian Benteke up front but it was the defence that had more pressing matters.
Palace had won two of the past 19 matches when Zaha was absent, something that may have added pressure to a nervous-looking defence. Scott Dann and Patrick van Aanholt failed to deal with a deep Erik Pieters cross from the left, allowing Gudmundsson to pick up the loose ball, before being allowed time in the area to choose his spot from eight yards out with less than five minutes on the clock.
It was an immediate confidence-booster for the visitors, who had not won in their past five matches, as Gudmundsson’s mishit cross then landed at the feet of Ashley Barnes on the edge of the six-yard box only for the shot to be turned behind.
Burnley did not have to wait long to double their lead. Dwight McNeil’s inswinging corner from the right was nodded in by Rodriguez who barely got off the ground to head the ball home from just a few yards out, leaving the Palace defence point fingers for a second time with less than 10 minutes on the clock.
Only West Brom have conceded more goals in the Premier League than Palace this season and this ineptitude masterclass was further proof why.
Vicente Guaita was immune from criticism for the third as Lowton drove forward from the halfway with the ball, bouncing off a desireless Van Aanholt, then playing a one-two with Barnes, who chipped the ball over the defence for the Burnley full-back to set himself and smash a first-time volley across Guaita and into the corner, much to the surprise of his teammates.
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There was one negative for Burnley as their captain, Ben Mee, was taken off on a stretcher after a clash with Ayew. Mee was attended to for several minutes by medical staff before leaving the field wearing a head and neck brace. He later reappeared and walked down the touchline unaided and was said to be feeling fine post-match.
Hodgson said: “I will have to think a bit deeper to ask more questions of the team and of ourselves rather than just put it down to ‘we were a bit unlucky, got off to a slow start and they scored a couple of good goals’.”
Victory provided a perfect start to a crucial week for Burnley, leaving them 11 points clear of the relegation zone, an important margin going into matches against strugglers Fulham and West Brom in the next seven days.