VIEIRA ON CLOUD
Zaha & VAR have Wolves in a spin
WILFRIED ZAHA and VAR saw off Wolves to lift Crystal Palace up to a lofty ninth place in the Premier League.
Conor Gallagher clinched victory which made it back-to-back league wins for Patrick Vieira’s men the first time this season.
It looked as if the impressive Vieira (below) and his side might be heading for a damaging seventh draw until the Eagles’ talisman and technology took a hand.
The Ivory Coast winger has been in the news all week over his international future with
The Elephants.
But should he stop playing for his country, it can only benefit Palace. Zaha had the ball in the net after 61 minutes but celebrations were cut short by linesman Peter Kirkup’s offside flag.
However a VAR check saw cheers ring round the ground as the goal was belatedly awarded.
Another VAR check controversially decided there should be no penalty for Wolves as awarded by Graham Scott for Joel Ward’s challenge on Rayan Ait-nouri.
The dubious decision was that it was a clear and obvious error, and a freekick outside the area was given instead.
But Gallagher’s deflected goal after 78 minutes then meant it was the same result, scoreline and goalscorers as last week at Manchester City.
That is four go al s this season for both Zaha and Gallagher.
Vieira said: “We showed today that as a team we are moving forward, defending well, keeping a clean
creating sheet and chances.
“It was a really good performance against a good team, as we know Wolves are dangerous.
“I have not set Wilf any specific target but I want more goals and assists from him as he is capable of it.
“He is one of our leaders on the field and with that comes responsibility.
“Conor is in a really good period, closing down the opposition and also scoring goals so I am very pleased with how he is doing.”
Zaha said: “VAR is part of the game now. I have to remember not to celebrate like a madman until the goal is given.”
With both teams in good form the visitors were unchanged, and Vieira made only the single change with Christian Benteke replacing Jordan Ayew.
Odsonne Edouard looped a header over from Gallagher’s cross and at the other end Raul Jimenez got his head to a Joao Moutinho free-kick but it was straight at Vicente Guaita.
After the break Zaha went to ground under challenge from
Max Kilman – but the officials were not interested.
It was Zaha that delivered the Palace goal in dramatic fashion after being put through by James Mcarthur.
After coolly slotting the ball into the far corner celebrations were initially cut short by an offside flag but VAR finally gave the goal.
Eight minutes later Wolves were given a penalty for Ward’s clumsy lunge at Ait-nouri – but again VAR came to Palace’s rescue.
And after 78 minutes the home side sealed the win when Gallagher, on loan from Chelsea, saw his shot from the edge of the area take a deflection off Conor Coady to leave Jose Sa flat-footed.
It was a first defeat in six games for Wolves, who leaving VAR aside were below their best.
Coach Bruno Lage said: “I am disappointed that we lost duels at both ends of the pitch.
“Crystal Palace and Patrick Vieira may have watched our performances against Leeds and Everton and realised we would cause them problems with lots of possession.
“It is up to us to counteract that when teams try and stop us.”
It was a very good display against a dangerous side. Wilf is one of our leaders on the field and with that comes responsibility
CRYSTAL PALACE WOLVES 6 ............. Shots on Target ........... 2 5 ............. Shots off Target ........... 2 2 ............... Blocked Shots ............ 0 4 ..................... Corners ................... 6 14 ....................... Fouls .................... 13 1 ...................... Offsides ................... 1 2 ................. Yellow Cards ............... 1 0 ................... Red Cards ................ 0 83.5 .... Passing Success %...74.2 66 ................. Duels Won .............. 62 51.6 ........ Duel Success % ..... 48.4 25 .................... Tackles .................. 31 56.0 ........ Tackles Won % ....... 61.3 59.4 ............. Possession ......... 40.6 46.7 ....... Territorial Adv % .... 53.3 533 ............. Total Passes ......... 356 12 ............... Total Crosses ........... 10 150 ............... Lost Balls ............. 152 60 ................ Recoveries ............. 66 64.3 ........ 1st Half Poss % ....... 35.7 53.5 ....... 2nd Half Poss % ..... 46.5