Palace’s new style suiting Cabaye

Crystal Palace have had an increased focus on maintaining possession this term and Yohan Cabaye claims the new style of play suits him perfectly.

Cabaye moved to Palace from Paris St-Germain in the summer of 2015 and made 40 appearances in his debut campaign at Selhurst Park.

The midfielder has been playing further up the pitch in the new system and got his first goal of the season in a 3-1 defeat to reigning Premier League champions Leicester City on Saturday.

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Having had a truncated pre-season due to representing France at Euro 2016, the 30-year-old insists he is now fully up to speed and proved it by getting his goal tally up and running against the Foxes – even if the result was less satisfactory.

“It’s always good for me to be on the scoresheet but I prefer if the goal means we get something from the game,” said Cabaye.

“From a personal point of view I enjoy where I am currently playing, a bit higher up the pitch. We have fantastic players but we have to work hard as a team to win games.

“Even though I was late into pre-season it was for a good reason as I was playing for my country but it was difficult as the other lads had been in and worked really hard for three to four weeks but I knew what I had to do and my fitness is coming back.

“The change in our style suits me and it means we play to keep possession more but we need to keep confidence on the ball.

“We have players who keep the ball well so I can see that continuing to improve.”