It’s always the goalscorer who gets his name up in lights, with Match of the Day soliloquies and back-page headlines – but what about the man behind the goal?
It’s time we looked back on some of the best Palace assists of the last few years – and boy have there been some good ones.
Palace headed to Anfield with full belief they could beat Jürgen Klopp’s side, and duly set about imposing themselves on the title favourites.
With half-an-hour gone, Ebere Eze brought down a dropping ball with Dennis Bergkamp-esque poise and jinked inside his marker, driving forwards with Liverpool on the back foot.
At exactly the right moment, he released the ball into the path of Wilfried Zaha, who was able to race in on goal and slot past Alisson to give Palace the lead.
It was an inch-perfect assist and the epitome of Ebere Eze’s Palace style.
One of the great days out in Palace’s Premier League era.
Having dramatically beaten Leicester City in the 94th minute the previous weekend – the first victory since New Year’s Day – the Eagles set about dismantling Leeds at Elland Road, with Michael Olise the star of the show.
His three assists – count them, three – made him the youngest player to bag a hat-trick of assists in the Premier League.
You can take your pick, but our favourite is him cutting inside from the right and slipping the ball through two defenders to pick out Jordan Ayew to finish.
What a result.
Another Eze masterclass, and a remarkably similar assist to his heroics at Anfield.
The Palace No. 10 skipped away from two Fulham defenders and brought the ball over the halfway line, before slotting it through for Odsonne Edouard to smash home.
Craven Cottage was silenced, barring a raucous section of travelling fans who were getting used to seeing magic come from the boots of Ebere Eze.
OK, so the assist itself – the final pass – wasn’t what makes this so special, but the move leading up to the goal demands its inclusion.
Palace turned up at Anfield playing with the confidence of prime Barcelona, knocking the ball around and causing Liverpool all kinds of problems.
A fast, free-flowing move – culminating in six one-touch passes – saw the ball worked to Mitchell on the left, where he cut it back into the path of Ebere Eze to slot home.
Amidst intense pressure from the home side, Palace held on to earn a famous victory.
And finally, we have the latest effort.
Eze was in the mood against Tottenham, and could have won a penalty in the second-half when he was hauled to the ground after sitting two defenders down and trying to round a third in the penalty area.
His finest moment came in the first-half, when the ball was whipped in by Daniel Muñoz. With Jean-Philippe Mateta behind him and the Spurs defenders closing in fast, he flicked the ball backwards with his first touch to set up the winner.
What a move.
