Matheus Pereira shows Sam Allardyce that he does not belong on the wing
West Brom were dire in attack against Crystal Palace but Matheus Pereira did at least show glimpses of his quality.
The Brazilian has been under par for the last few weeks and has struggled in the new role given to him by Sam Allardyce.
Big Sam has packed central midfield with Okay Yokuslu, Conor Gallagher and Ainsley Maitland-Niles over recent games.
That has forced Pereira out wide a little.
He does tend to cut in to receive the ball and did that effectively against Palace, but his defensive duties force him to cover the opposition full-back.
That takes away from his game as in an ideal world he would be given the freedom to roam without having to cover in defence.
He should have enjoyed that on Saturday, as Palace had scored just three goals in six games prior to the weekend.
Despite that, Pereira was still our best player going forward.
He managed an impressive 100% pass accuracy per SofaScore as well as two key passes.
A return of one successful dribble out of three attempted shows he does not belong on the wing, as taking on players is not part of his skillset.
Allardyce should have added a winger in place of Maitland-Niles, possibly Robert Snodgrass or Grady Diangana.
After all, Pereira provided little support for Conor Townsend as he was dribbled past twice and failed to make an interception.
It is time Big Sam mixed things up as he has now named the same starting eleven for four consecutive games, despite the fact we have only one goal and one win in that time.
That victory over Brighton had a touch of fortune about it too.
We are keen to see a more direct approach in matches, and providing Mbaye Diagne with more service is the best method for us to score.
Diangana’s direct running has been missed for months and Snodgrass is arguably the best crosser in the squad.
The season appears to be over now so Big Sam may as well experiment and try to excite supporters after a dreadful campaign.
In other West Brom news, Gary Lineker believes an ‘outstanding’ Albion player is close to an international call-up.
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