---
title: "Palace’s New-found Hero: Why Riedewald Deserves More Minutes"
canonical: "https://readcrystalpalace.com/2020/10/19/palaces-new-found-hero-why-riedewald-deserves-more-minutes/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Alex Jones"
section: "Articles"
published: "2020-10-19T14:00:03Z"
modified: "2020-10-19T14:00:03Z"
---

# Palace’s New-found Hero: Why Riedewald Deserves More Minutes

Palace’s 1-1 weekend draw in a tense and scrappy clash with arch-rivals Brighton provided many key talking points.

Whilst Palace’s [failure to record a single shot](https://www.premierleague.com/match/58937)beyond Wilfried Zaha’s penalty was a cause for creative concern, Palace’s defensive acumen served them well. They were unlucky to concede a goal in the 90th minute via a considerable deflection from Alexis Mac Allister’s long-range effort.

However, one Palace player’s role was especially salient for buoying the performance of the team.

Jairo Riedewald made a rare start, putting in a commendable display that exhibited his nimbleness, strong ball control and passing abilities. Hodgson’s rare faith in the young Dutchman was seemingly rewarded with a well-rounded overall midfield display. A [pass success rate](https://theathletic.co.uk/2143508/2020/10/19/jairo-palace-riedewald/) of 95.8 percent was the highest of any player to feature in the draw, which serves as a testament to Riedewald’s composure, vision, and progressive role as a midfield dynamo.

The[typically peripheral player](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jairo-riedewald/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/241481/plus/0?saison=&verein=873&liga=&wettbewerb=&pos=&trainer_id=) was unfortunate not to cap his performance with a fine assist. [A perfectly weighted, line-splitting ball](https://theathletic.co.uk/2143508/2020/10/19/jairo-palace-riedewald/) found its way to the feet of loanee Michy Batshuayi, who powered through on goal and thundered a strike that found its way past Matthew Ryan in the roof of the net. Unfortunately for both players, Batshuayi was adjudged by VAR to have been fractionally offside.

Riedewald, [a 2017 signing](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jul/17/crystal-palace-complete-signing-jairo-riedewald-ajax) in the short-lived Frank de Boer experiment, could be on track to enjoy something of a red-and-blue renaissance under Roy Hodgson. Riedewald had failed to make a Premier League start [since he featured](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/53293983) in a 3-0 defeat for Leicester City, and had generally served a more peripheral role in Hodgson’s squad.

However, given [the injury sustained](https://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/2020/october/roy-hodgson-provides-fitness-update-for-crystal-palace-v-brighton--hove-albion/) by James McCarthy on international duty, it is hard to envisage Riedewald failing to get a serious look in ahead of a promising fixture against Fulham.