Karanka hails fringe players in stalemate
EVEN Christian Benteke scored as Palace ran riot, recording their biggest win since they beat the Foxes in December.
It further increased pressure on Leicester manager Claude Puel, already cutting a lonely figure after a dramatic slump in form. Yesterday’s victory means that Palace’s Premier League survival is now in their own own hands.
Their first back-to-back wins in more than a year could also see them even make the top 10 if they beat strugglers Stoke and West Brom in their remaining games.
Leicester have now just four wins in 18 league games and the pressure is on Puel to survive.
Watching England boss Gareth Southgate saw an impressive display from Ruben Loftus-Cheek, while Andros Townsend made a decent case for an international recall. But it was Wilfried Zaha – a player who was allowed to slip through England’s net and play for Ivory Coast – who really caught the eye as he scored one and made another. Palace boss Roy Hodgson said: “I like to think we are safe now, although it is dangerous to celebrate because miracles do happen.
“As for Zaha, there are no barriers he can’t leap.” Puel has taken the Foxes from the bottom three to Premier League safety but he was not helped yesterday by the dismissal of Marc Albrighton, sent off in the
56th minute for bringing down Zaha.
Referee Mike Dean thought long and hard before flourishing the red card which looked a tad harsh given how far away from goal Zaha was.
Palace were more aggressive early on and deservedly took the lead in the 17th minute.
Zaha fired home after Loftus-Cheek wriggled his way into Leicester’s box and combined with James McArthur and Yohan Cabaye to create the opening.
It was no surprise when they added a second in the
39th minute.
Patrick van Aanholt worked the ball inside to Zaha, who cleverly measured a pass for McArthur to turn and score, although keeper Ben Hamer could have done better with the effort.
After the red card it was one-way traffic, Loftus-Cheek rounding Hamer to score in the 82nd minute and Van Aanholt adding a fourth three minutes later.
Then substitute Benteke – who has had his spot-kick troubles this season – fired the fifth with a penalty after being brought down by Harry Maguire.
Puel denied he was fighting to save his job. He said: “I still believe I have the support of the players at this moment.” FOREST boss Aitor Karanka says a few of his players might have played their way into longer-term futures at the club with their performances in the draw with Bristol City.
The Spaniard made six changes to his lin e-up and gave an opportunity to players such as Andreas Bouchalakis, Daryl Murphy and Adlene Guedioura, who have found their chances limited since he took on the role in January.
And his new-look side responded with a dominant, electric display that produced everything but a goal, with a Lee Tomlin penalty among 25 efforts that failed to find the back of the net.
The point was not enough to keep the visitors’ hopes of securing a play-off place alive but it could have been far worse for Lee Johnson’s side.
“I am really pleased, because once again we were playing for nothing, but it was the last home game of the season and we wanted to finish the season in our stadium in the best way,” Karanka said.
“I do not know how many chances we created, and we had a penalty. But Card no we gave opportunities to different players and their attitude has been amazing.
“I am pleased, because this is the way I wanted to finish the season.”
City boss Johnson said he was already looking forward to next term after seeing their slim play-off hopes brought to an end.
He also paid tribute to keeper Frank Fielding, who made a number of important saves, including from Tomlin’s second-half spot-kick.
“You always fancy Frank in that kind of situation,” he said.
“You won’t find a better shot-stopper in the division than him.
“It was a great save and it gave us belief that we could win.”