Maxence Lacroix and Mohammed Kudus chased Lucas Paqueta’s through ball. Crystal Palace’s midfield was bypassed by West Ham’s rapid attack. Their defense was exposed. But there is only one winner in the race.

After sprinting in front of Kudus, Lacroix timed the challenge perfectly, stopping West Ham’s charge with an outstretched boot and hooking the ball into the path of centre-back Marc Gersh to eliminate Aware of danger, he turned defense into offense in one fell swoop.

The move was cheered by visiting fans at the London Stadium and highlights the quality the summer signing brings to Crystal Palace. In addition to being one of the fastest centre-backs in the league, Lacroix also excels in one-on-one situations.

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Kudus is the latest opponent to discover this. Data comes from Genius IQ Data shows that this season, Lacroix has forced nearly 70% of turnovers in one-on-one confrontations, and his success rate is 12% higher than any other Premier League player.

The 24-year-old arrived under the radar but has proven to be one of the signings of the season, justifying the sale of Joachim Andersen to Fulham, a decision that raised eyebrows and Played an important role in Crystal Palace’s steady rise to the Premier League. League table.

Saturday’s 2-0 victory over West Ham United made it three wins in four Premier League games. Going back even further, they’ve lost just two of 14 games, and Lacroix has been playing every minute. It’s a far cry from where they were at the start of the season, when they went eight games without a win.

The deal makes financial sense for Palace – Lacroix is ​​four years younger than Anderson and is priced at £21m, around £9m less than his predecessor was sold for – but also from a footballing perspective. Makes sense.

It certainly helps that Lacroix is ​​familiar with Oliver Glasner’s methods during his time at his former club Wolfsburg, where they qualified for the Champions League together. “We have a great relationship,” Lacroix said of Glasner after their reunion.

But Glasner used a back four rather than a back three at Wolfsburg, while Lacroix also joined a team in shaky form and Anderson also followed Michael Aulis’ move to Bayern Munich. Quit the team.

He had to adapt, and more turmoil followed. Trevoh Chalobah has been recalled from his loan spell by Chelsea, while Guehi continues to attract interest from the same club.

In a testing environment, Lacroix provided stability and established himself as the centerpiece of Glasner’s three-man defence, initially being used in a wide position.

His speed off screens is priceless.

Tracking data shows that Lacroix has one of the highest speeds this season at 35.81km/h, ranking 10th among 518 players and second only to Mickey van de Veen and Emmanuel Agbadu among centre-backs. .

Lacroix’s explosiveness added security to those moments, such as against Kudus when Palace were threatened from behind. But he’s also good at defending the paint.

His 36 interceptions this season are second only to Fulham’s Anthony Robinson, underscoring his ability to anticipate danger. He also ranks highly in licensing.

His defensive ability came into play.

Indeed, since Lacroix moved into the backline and Guerch moved to the left at the end of October, Palace have had one of the best defensive records in the division, conceding just 17 goals in 14 games and keeping 5 clean sheets. Arsenal and Liverpool are the only teams with fewer shots on target.

Anderson, of course, made a huge contribution to Crystal Palace, making 112 appearances in three years. But Lacroix has proven physical and athletic improvements, and his speed and size allow him to dominate opponents.

His skills are also excellent and can help Crystal Palace organize the attack from the back, cooperate with the midfielders and even imitate Anderson’s eye for long passes. His 50% success rate is actually better than Anderson’s success rate at Fulham this season.

Lacroix is ​​as much an asset to his opponents in the penalty area as he is to himself. In the game against Everton in September, he knocked down the ball after taking a corner kick to score a goal for Gueye; in the 2-2 draw with Manchester City in December, he scored with a header.

He has 15 shots in total, just one less than Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and three less than Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes. His expected goals from set pieces is 1.58, ranking 11th among all Premier League players this season. His dead-ball threat was also evident at Wolfsburg, where he scored four goals last season.

Glasner hopes Lacroix can do more of the same when Palace host Brentford, live sky sports on Sunday. But he has shown his worth. Recent evidence suggests that Brentford’s forward, like West Ham’s, may find it difficult to work out a way around him.

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