Benteke message for terrace trolls
REDEMPTION for Christian — not that he felt he had sinned in the first place.
Palace’s Benteke took a standing ovation from the delighted travelling supporters after scoring his first of the season and set up another before being substituted in this encouraging stroll for Roy Hodgson’s impressive team at a stunned King Power Stadium.
It was a long way from seven days before when the Belgian defied orders to take a last-minute penalty which he promptly missed to cost his team two points. That action, along with Benteke’s lack of goals this term, suggested a selfishness and, as Hodgson admitted, prompted anger across the club and the fans.
But the man himself — who celebrated his 19th-minute header by putting his fingers in his ears — bluntly revealed he was not seeking forgiveness. ‘I didn’t feel sorry for anything,’ said Benteke. ‘I just took my responsibilities,’ he added. ‘I didn’t hide myself, I knew that my time was going to come. I’d been working really hard for the team. I didn’t score. Now I’ve got what I deserve.’
Before kick-off, ironic cheers rang out from the away corner when Benteke hit the back of the net in a shooting drill. His goal and subsequent assist for Wilfried Zaha to double the lead had the same fans singing his name.
‘That’s football,’ Benteke said. ‘Last week they were swearing and they were laughing at me.’ Was that what prompted the muted celebration? ‘That means I will never give up and I will just keep going on my own,’ he added.
Following the second-half dismissal of Wilfred Ndidi, who rightly picked up a second yellow card on his 21st birthday for simulation from referee Martin Atkinson, Benteke’s replacement Bakary Sako made it three to stun a home side who had been enjoying their own revival under Claude Puel.
Palace had not scored away from home, let alone win this season. This has been some upturn under Hodgson, whose star players are revelling under his tenure. One of those is Zaha. Accused of diving during last weekend’s draw with Bournemouth, he was magnificent against Leicester.
‘He doesn’t dive,’ said Hodgson. ‘It’s a fact. After people unbalance him, he works very hard — harder than most — to stay on his feet.’
Hodgson then trained his sights elsewhere. ‘I don’t think it’s incumbent on other managers to make comments on other team’s players,’ he said.
‘I don’t do that, I don’t warn referees about players in opposition teams. Referees should be allowed to make their own decisions and, up to now, no referee has admonished Wilfried Zaha for diving.’
The victory lifted the Eagles out of the relegation zone. Those miserable days spent seemingly marooned at the bottom seem a long time ago.
The only downside, joked the manager, was the potential impact that it could have on his January spending plans. ‘The people who might need to spend some money might say we don’t need it,’ said Hodgson. ‘We need strengthening, the squad is not strong enough, it’s not deep enough. If anything, this run is weakening our hand.’
When asked if that run was extra satisfying given the criticism he received following the disastrous end to his England reign, he said: ‘You mean the criticism over one game? We were not too heavily criticised when we went 20 games with 16 wins and four draws.
‘We didn’t get an awful lot of criticism there. Knockout football is knockout football.’
This was no day for repentance. LEICESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel 5.5; Simpson 5, Maguire 6, Morgan 6, Chilwell 5; Iborra 5 (Okazaki 76min), Ndidi 4; Mahrez 5, Gray 5, Albrighton 5.5 (King 76); Vardy 5.5 (Ulloa 84). Subs not used: Iheanacho, Hamer, Dragovic, Fuchs. Booked: Simpson, Maguire, Ndidi. Sent off: Ndidi. Manager: Claude Puel 5. CRYSTAL PALACE (4-4-1-1): Speroni 7; Kelly 6.5, Dann 6.5, Tomkins 6.5, Schlupp 7; Loftus-Cheek 7, McArthur 6.5, Cabaye 6.5 (Riedewald 83), Townsend 7.5; ZAHA 8; Benteke 7 (Sako 87), Subs not used: Van Aanholt, Hennessey, Lee, Souare, Wan-Bissaka. Scorers: Benteke 19, Zaha 40, Sako 90. Booked: Schlupp, Benteke. Manager: Roy Hodgson 8. Referee: Martin Atkinson 7. Attendance: 31,081.