First Premier League start ‘worth the wait’ for USMNT star Richards after ‘special’ outing for Crystal Palace vs Man Utd

• Defender joined Eagles from Bayern Munich
• Injury stunted early progress in England
• Caught the during draw with the Red Devils

WHAT HAPPENED? The United States international defender moved to Selhurst Park from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich during the summer of 2022 in an £11 million ($14m) transfer. He is up to six appearances for Palace across all competitions, but the 22-year-old had to wait until January 18, 2023 before making Patrick Vieira’s starting XI in an English top-flight fixture.

WHAT THEY SAID: After putting in an impressive performance for Palace during their dramatic 1-1 draw with United, USMNT star Richards told the Eagles’ official website of seeing patience pay off: “It was amazing. It was good to get a result at home, especially with the way we played. I enjoyed the game. It was worth the wait! Being able to make it [my first Premier League start] at home, especially in a game like tonight, was amazing. Being able to get a result at the very end, it was very special for me. I think you could see on everyone’s faces that we were really elated and relieved that we got what we deserved, which was the goal at the end.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Injury has prevented Richards from making more of an impact in English football, with a problem picked up in August preventing him from figuring in the United States’ plans for the 2022 World Cup finals.

IN TWO PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT? Richards does face plenty of competition for places at Palace, from the likes of Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen, but will hope that there are many more Premier League starts to come now that he is fully up and running in south London.