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May 5, 2018 at 12.30pm UK
 
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Roy Hodgson surprised by straightforward Crystal Palace survival

:Headline: Roy Hodgson surprised by straightforward Crystal Palace survival: ID:325168: from db_amp
Roy Hodgson confesses that he did not expect Crystal Palace to have secured Premier League safety in as composed a manner as they did considering their poor start to the season.

Roy Hodgson has admitted that he did not expect Crystal Palace to have all but clinched Premier League safety ahead of their trip to Stoke City on Saturday.

The Eagles mathematically guaranteed their place in the top flight next season thanks to a 2-1 win at the bet365 Stadium, which relegated the Potters in the process.

Palace were pointless and goalless in the league following their first seven games but now sit 11th in the standings and nine points above the bottom three.

"After seven games, or after 11 games with four points, I never saw it coming," Hodgson told BBC Sport at full time.

"I was hoping it would be a low-scoring year in terms of points for the lower sides and we'd just scrape over the line. But we came here, basically safe, I couldn't see us going down with 38 points, so I think it was a great show of character from us to come here and play really well.

"It's probably the thing I'm most proud of, it's not easy having that euphoria from last week, and then come to a place like this where they're fighting for their lives and put on a performance like we did. I would have been disappointed if we hadn't got the win following the performance we put in."

Palace are the first top-flight team since Liverpool in the 1899-1900 season to avoid relegation despite losing their first seven matches of the season.

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1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
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