Wilfried Zaha scored a brace to help Crystal Palace produce one of the comfortable football results of the weekend in the Premier League. Ollie Watkins opened the scoring in the fifth minute before Zaha equalized in the seventh minute. Zaha missed a penalty but scored off the rebound in the 58th minute before jean-Philippe Mateta sealed the win in the 71st minute.
Player ratings
Crystal Palace: Guaita (6), Ward (7), Andersen (7), Guehi (7), Mitchell (6), Schlupp (7), Eze (8), Doucoure (6), Zaha (8), Edouard (8), Ayew (7).
Subs used: Olise (6), Mateta (6), Milvojevic (5), Hughes (5), Richards (n/a).
Aston Villa: Martinez (7), Cash (5), Konza (5), Mings (5), Digne (5), Kamara (5), McGinn (6), Ramsey (5), Buendia (4), Bailey (6), Watkins (6).
Subs used: Ings (4), Luiz (4), Coutinho (4).
Man of the match: Wilfried Zaha.
Managers Reaction
Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira: “It was a really good performance. From the first minute, we were into the game. We wanted to play with a lot of intensity, to press them high, to win the ball as high as we can, and today, we did it. We went through a difficult period in the game, but we managed to keep our calm and organized. I was really pleased with the attitude we showed and we showed some quality as well.”
Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard: “We started extremely well. We got ourselves in front and scored a good goal, but we never kept the lead for long enough. We allowed Crystal Palace back into the game too soon. We got to half time at 1-1 and the game is in the balance. We were well in the game for an hour and the big turning point is the penalty. I’m not sure what the rules say but I’m sure there’s a rule in there that will go against us, but I felt for Lucas. I’m not sure what else he can do, he’s going up fairly to challenge for the ball, he’s trying to gain leverage and height and the header’s hit his arm from less than a meter away.”
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