Crystal Palace’s Luka Milivojevic recognises they have developed a problem in the final third that they will need to correct over the course of the coming international break.
Saturday’s 1-0 defeat by Wolves represented their fourth home fixture this season, and the fourth in which they have failed to score.
In contrast to last season when they were potent on the break, in addition to the lack of a consistent goal-threat they are also short on confidence.
The absence of the injured, and previously out-of-form, Christian Benteke has been felt with summer signing Jordan Ayew so far struggling to replace his physical presence, and Milivojevic told the club’s official website: “As (per) the last game, we didn’t find that last pass in the final third or to finish the action.
“In the second half, okay they scored after 10 minutes. But we tried, we pushed. We had two or three good shots from the box that were blocked. We missed the last pass, to cross the ball or shoot to finish the action.
“In many opportunities which we had, we tried to dribble or do something; maybe we didn’t find the space and solution very well.
“But it’s one more game that we played well, better than our opponents, and we lost. That’s for sure the analysis, so we have to prepare ourselves for the next game.
“We just have to continue our work, believe in ourselves. We have the international break to try to get out of this situation and to be better.”
For all of Palace’s struggles, Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo praised his team for “adjusting” to their hosts and the defending he believed was vital to a sixth clean sheet from seven.
“It’s the beginning of everything, a clean sheet,” the one-time goalkeeper told his club’s official website. “This way you are always closer to winning the game, as long as you do your tasks and defend well.
“Crystal Palace had chances, it’s impossible to avoid, but the goalkeeper is there to try and save it and we had bodies in front of the ball. The players adjusted themselves and changed how they press.”