Super Eagles’ Semi Ajayi Gives Reason For West Brom’s Heavy Loss To Crystal Palace

The Baggies suffered a heavy defeat in the hands of the Eagles, leaving the Nigerian defender to rue what could have been had a significant call not go against them

Nigerian international defender Semi Ajayi is convinced that West Brom would have gotten something from their weekend’s Premier League clash with Crystal Palace had it not been for the red card shown to teammate Matheus Pereira.

Brazilian winger Pereira was dismissed in the 34th minute of the encounter for violent conduct after a VAR review, when the score was still one-all as Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher had cancelled out the Eagles opener.

But the home side lost steam and dipped in performance after they were reduced to ten men allowing the visitors to run away with an impressive 5-1 victory, thanks to a brace from Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke.

Ajayi believes that early dismissal changed the outcome of the game for the Baggies.

“I think it was a very even game before the red card. If anything, I thought we were edging it,” Ajayi told West Brom’s official website.

“Going down to ten men changed things massively, but I don’t think it should’ve had as much of an effect on our performance as it did.”

The defeat left West Brom 19th in the standings with six points from eleven matches ahead of their trip to Newcastle United on Saturday, December 12.