Richards reveals key objective fulfilled against Brentford
Chris Richards revealed one of Palace’s focuses against Brentford – which contributed to a comprehensive 2-0 win at Selhurst Park – was to come out on top from set-piece situations.
The Eagles by-and-large controlled the contest in SE25 to return to winning ways in the Premier League, with goals either side of half-time stemming from set-piece situations: the first a Yéremy Pino free-kick headed back into the mixer by Jefferson Lerma and converted by Jean-Philippe Mateta, and the latter a Lerma long-throw diverted in by Brentford’s Nathan Collins.
With Palace restricting their in-form visitors to only a handful of half-chances on the afternoon, those two goals were enough to secure three important points.
“Is that an assist for Jeff?!” Richards joked, speaking to Palace TV. “It was a really good performance from beginning to end.
“JP's goal really kind of set the tone for us today. We knew that we had to kind of win set-pieces – that was our job today. They scored an own-goal off a set-piece, so I think we did that job quite well!
“I think anytime we can keep a clean sheet, that's our job at the back, and I know it gives us a good chance of winning as well.
“We’re really happy with the result today and really happy with the overall performance.”
On Lerma’s impact – with the Colombian the only introduction to the team which had played Arsenal at the Emirates the previous weekend – Richards noted: “Jeff brings a lot to this team.
“This is the reason why he’s played for his national team for multiple years now: because he brings a lot of fight, but also he brings a lot of passion and brings a lot of quality.
“You know, whenever somebody steps out, he comes in. And like I said, at Palace, we do this kind of ‘next man up’ – we have that mentality. Jeff took his chance and opportunity today and hopefully he gets a lot more.”
Richards missed the midweek win over Liverpool after a minor issue with his calf, but returned for the win over Brentford.
“There's been a lot of fixtures this season, whether it's with Palace or with the national team, and I'm just kind of trying to manage my body the right way possible,” Richards explained.
“It seemed to work tonight. I felt pretty good. And again, whatever I can do to help the team get three points, that's what I'll do.
“[With so many games you have to] try to rest as much as possible. I mean, there's not really much you can do. Whenever you have an off day, you make the most of the off day – and I'll be laying in bed for the next two days!”