Crystal Palace midfielder Jeff Schlupp has disclosed that a pre-match conversation with his Ghanaian teammate Jordan Ayew paved the way for his goal against Burnley in a 2-0 victory on November 4, 2023.
Schlupp capitalized on Ayew’s pass across the goal and slotted the ball home, precisely as they had discussed before the game.
“We literally spoke before the game,” Schlupp shared in his post-match interview. “He said, ‘Just make sure you come in at the back post and I’ll look for you.’
“As soon as I saw him win the ball back and run into the box, I just put my head down and ran towards the back post, hoping he would pull it across, and he did. I just took a gamble, and we managed to get the timing right, and it was perfect.”
This marked Schlupp’s fourth career goal against Burnley and set Crystal Palace on the path to securing a crucial three points on the road.
“I don’t know, to be fair—someone did mention it to me before the game, so I thought, ‘You know what, why not add to it?'” Schlupp said regarding his record against Burnley.
He described the win as a classic away performance, acknowledging that they were under pressure for much of the game but remained patient and capitalized on their chances.
“It was probably a typical old-fashioned away performance. We were under pressure for a lot of the game. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. They played some good football, to be fair,” Schlupp noted.
“We knew we just had to be patient and take our chances, as we did today, so it was a perfect away win.”
