Crystal Palace are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games, drawing 2-2 with Aston Villa, drawing 1-1 with Newcastle, beating Ipswich 1-0, and drawing 2-2 with Manchester City.
If you look at this in regard to points, earning six points from a possible 12 isn’t bad at all when you consider the opposition in these four games, and these results have seen Oliver Glasner’s side climb out of the relegation zone, now sitting 17th.
One man in particular has been key with his performances in recent weeks, scoring two goals and becoming “irreplaceable” in Glasner’s system, per the words of journalist Dom Smith.
Daniel Munoz's performances this season
Daniel Munoz has been in superb form lately, scoring a goal against Manchester City. But, his standout performance in this recent run definitely came against the Magpies.
Alongside scoring a 94th-minute equaliser to grab a point for the Eagles, Munoz also won 12/13 ground duels in the game alongside winning a whopping 11 tackles.
The importance of Munoz is key to Glasner’s system, as he is required to hold the width and operate as a fifth attacker in possession, whilst also tracking back and being part of the compact back five out of possession.
The 50-year-old Austrian coach even labelled Munoz’s goal as “amazing” against Man City, speaking about his ability to affect the game from wingback, overloading that side of the pitch.
Often, this role is considered a specialist one, and can drive the price of top players in these positions, but Palace managed to get a real bargain with Munoz, who has already tripled his value.
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Daniel Munoz's transfer value in 2024
The 28-year-old was signed by Palace in January 2024, joining from Genk for a fee of around £6.9m. Since joining the Eagles, Munoz has made 34 appearances for the club, scoring two goals, providing six assists, and totalling 2,965 minutes played.
According to Transfermarkt, Munoz has seen his value soar and he is now worth around £19m, nearly triple the fee he was signed for just 11 months ago.
So, how does he compare to a fellow full-back in the Palace squad?
Goals
0.12
0.00
Assists
0.12
0.06
xG
0.18
0.02
xAG
0.11
0.15
Progressive Carries
1.57
2.01
Progressive Passes
2.43
2.36
Shots Total
1.01
0.34
Key Passes
1.00
1.04
Passes into Pen Area
0.50
0.83
Shot-Creating Actions
2.29
2.50
Tackles
3.79
2.71
Interceptions
1.01
0.40
Glasner has established a good dynamic with his wing-backs, the left side being more geared towards progression, as Tyrick Mitchell demonstrates here with his metrics, averaging more progressive carries, more key passes per 90, and more shot-creating actions.
Munoz, on the other hand, is the more direct attacking threat, getting into goalscoring areas more often, taking more shots, generating more xG, and scoring more goals per 90. Both players are expected to do their part on the defensive end, and their industry to get up and down the pitch is key to their roles.
If Palace are to continue on their four-game unbeaten streak and continue to climb their way up the Premier League table, the performances of their wingbacks will be key, with Munoz and Mitchell impacting both sides of the ball at all times.
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