ZAHA GIVES ROY A SPOT OF BOTHER

ROY HODGSON says he decides who takes the penalties at Crystal Palace – not Wilfried Zaha.

Eagles star Zaha said this week that he wants to take over from Luka Milivojevic as the regular taker of spotkicks at Selhurst Park.

But Hodgson, who has put Zaha on temporary penalty duty as Milivojevic recovers after a positive Coronavirus test, says that the decision is up to him.

The Palace boss said: “I can state there has been no conversation between Wilf and I in that respect. In Luka’s absence I have asked him to take the penalties.

“But when Luka returns, if he wants to take them then he will have to come and have that conversation with me, which at the moment he has not had.”

Penalty king Milivojevic has only missed two of 23 spot-kicks for Palace, but Zaha questioned why he wasn’t taking them instead.

He said: “Why am I not taking my own penalties? These are things I can do, taking more shots. There’s nothing stopping me doing it, so why not do it?”

Zaha has scored five goals in eight games this season – more than the four he scored in the whole of last season – including two from the spot (above).

But when asked about Zaha’s comments, Hodgson said: “I think that gives the wrong impression of Wilf. He is a team player. He’s not the kind of guy that says if he gets penalties he’s got to be the one to take them.

“I don’t have any worries, though I’m pleased to hear him say he’s interested in scoring more goals.

“It’s something we have worked on and talked about with him over the last few years. This year we seem to be getting a much bigger return for our talking.”