Christian Benteke put in an impressive performance for Crystal Palace on Saturday, despite the game eventually ending in a 1-0 loss against Newcastle United.

On the chalkboard

It would be easy to look at this as simply one more game in which he didn't make an impact for Roy Hodgson's side, as he failed to get on the scoresheet and no points were earned.

That stance would be helped by the fact that the Belgium international has made five starts and 11 substitute appearances in all competitions this campaign, without recording a single goal or assist.

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While the 29-year-old will likely be disappointed that his drought has continued and the team walked away from St. James' Park without any points, there were still positive signs to take regarding the former Aston Villa and Liverpool man's play.

Positive signs

First of all, he used his physicality well, winning 11 aerial duels throughout the 90 minutes that he was on the pitch.

He was more than just a target man though, as he showed quality on the ball, completing all three of his attempted dribbles, as well as managing one key pass.

The Belgian also got three shots off, one of which forced a good save from Martin Dubravka. Even though it didn't lead to a goal, what was impressive about this is that he latched onto the rebound and played a threatening ball towards Jordan Ayew, showing how alert he was.

There was even a defensive contribution from the colossal striker, as he made one tackle and two interceptions during the game's duration.

It says a lot about his performance that the goalscorer Miguel Almiron and Florian Lejeune were the only two players that WhoScored gave a higher rating than Benteke.

Did he really play for us?! No Palace fan has managed to name all of these obscure Eagles signings....

As has already been mentioned, there are various reasons for disappointment following this match, but Benteke's performance should offer some encouragement.

In other news, it has been suggested that Palace are misusing one of their midfielders.