Roy is back with a bang as Foxes land in drop zone
ROY HODGSON got a big hug from Brendan Rodgers – then dropped the Leicester boss right in it.
Hodgson led Crystal Palace to their first win since New Year’s Eve to push Leicester into the bottom three.
Jean-philippe
Mateta came off the bench to score the Eagles’ winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
It completed the Palace comeback after a Daniel Iversen own goal levelled Leicester’s opener from Ricardo Pereira (below).
Palace boss Hodgson, 75, whose side are now five points clear of danger, said: “I don’t think in the four years I was here before, I ever saw the quality of performance I did in the first half.
“It was dominant and encompassed everything we tried to put in their heads. We wanted them to believe in themselves.
“It’s a relief. We did deserve to win it, but I know it’s hard on them to coincide with basically the last kick of the game.
“We knew the crowd would be nervous like we were, but we gave them what they wanted to see. On another day we could have won by more.
“I was delighted by the reception the fans gave me but if there were hairs standing up on the back of my neck it was in fright we might not get them a victory!”
The only downside for Palace was that skipper and talisman Wilfried Zaha limped off with a thigh muscle injury.
Hodgson said: “It was a massive blow to see him come off, he was so good and has been such a good leader.
“All we can do is cross our fingers and hope for the best. Muscle strains can take anything from days to weeks.”
Leicester were under the cosh early and ended up being outshot 31-3, the biggest such margin in any Premier League game so far this season.
Boss Rodgers said: “We defended well in the first half.
“Then we had to adjust and when they scored we didn’t regain our rhythm.
“We were resilient and kept fighting but to concede right at the death, it’s a really painful one.
“There’s plenty of effort. Plenty of spirit. We’ve got 30 points to play for.
“We’ve been in this position before and dealt with that and got ourselves out of it.
“Now we have just got to focus on ourselves.”
C PALACE: Guaita 6, Ward 6, Andersen 6, Guehi 6, Mitchell 6, Eze 8, Doucoure 6, Schlupp 6 (Hughes 81, 5), Olise 6, Edouard 6 (Mateta 86, 5), Zaha 7 (Ayew 45, 6).
LEICESTER: Iversen 6, Kristiansen 6, Faes 6, Souttar 7, Castagne 6, Ndidi 6, Dewsbury-hall 6, Tete 5 (Pereira
46, 7), Maddison 6, Barnes 6, Daka 6 (Iheanacho 72, 6).
MAN OF THE MATCH: EBERECHI
EZE – Key contributions throughout the match for Palace.
T Robinson