West Ham halted their their three game away losing streak in the Premier League by picking up a point against Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon. The Hammers had failed to find the back of the net against Burnley, Bournemouth and Wolves, but managed to do so at Selhurst Park, albeit from a Mark Noble penalty kick.

Let’s take a look at the talking points from this game.

Luka Milivojevic’s second half tackle on Noble when he was already on a yellow

Perhaps the biggest talking point of the game for Hammers fans. It was a challenge that should’ve seen him booked by referee Craig Pawson, and would’ve reduced Palace to ten men, and potentially broken the momentum the Eagles were building up. West Ham were also 1-0 up at that stage.

A mixed day at the office for Ryan Fredericks

Manuel Pellegrini showed great faith in Ryan Fredericks when he chose to start him at right back ahead of veteran Pablo Zabaleta against Wilfried Zaha. The Chilean opted for the player with greater pace rather the better defender, perhaps a result of James Milner’s struggles against Zaha a few weeks ago.

The first real chance of the game went to Fredericks and he was a constant threat down the right flank offensively in the first half. Defensively, he came under massive pressure in the second half, and it lead to an exchange of words between him and Angelo Ogbonna later in the game. Was subbed off six minutes from time for Zabaleta.

Fredericks was also guilty of playing Palace onside several times. An up and down day, as one might expect for one having to deal with the class of Zaha, to be fair to him. [Read more…]