Two goals from Wilfried Zaha and a late strike by Jean-Philippe Mateta helped Crystal Palace come from behind and defeat Aston Villa 3-1 at Selhurst Park on Saturday for their first win of the Premier League season.
Mateta volleyed a fine cross from Tyrick Mitchell home from close range to wrap up the win in the 71st minute, with Palace having taken the lead when Zaha scored on the rebound after Emiliano Martinez saved his penalty.
❤️💙#CPFC | #CRYAVL pic.twitter.com/EUgK2w2rfq
â Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) August 20, 2022
It was the forwardâs third league goal of the season and he now sits at the top of the scoring charts alongside Fulhamâs Aleksandar Mitrovic and Leeds Unitedâs Rodrigo Moreno.
Earlier, Ollie Watkins ran on to a pass by Leon Bailey and put Villa ahead in the fifth minute for his first goal of the campaign, but a vibrant Palace did not need long to respond.
Zaha found himself in space two minutes later and slotted the ball past Martinez to restore parity for Patrick Vieiraâs side, who could have gone in front had Jeffrey Schluppâs strike not been ruled out for offside.
âWe worked hard,â said Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze, who was another one of their outstanding performers. âWe wanted to put in a good performance at home and get the three points, which we did.
âWe were looking to be creative in and around their box and see things but unfortunately (Schluppâs ruled-out goal) didnât come off. Regardless we had a good performance and itâs good we came away with three points today.
âIt was a difficult start but we did what we could, put in good performances and it paid off.â
Villa defender Lucas Digne handled the ball in the penalty area after the break and Zahaâs initial shot from the spot was saved, but the Ivorian striker made no error on the rebound in the 58th minute.
A second defeat from three matches this season will heap the pressure on manager Steven Gerrard and questions will be asked about the manner in which his team capitulated in the second half as Palace improved.
There’s your Palace. #CPFC | #CRYAVL pic.twitter.com/LglLdUWE2z
â Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) August 20, 2022
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âItâs a step backwards on the back of last week,â said Gerrard. âIt wad the perfect start for us, we looked dangerous going forward but we never kept the lead for long enough. We allowed Palace back into the game.
âWe never reacted well enough from going 2-1 down. We were really unlucky, the keeper made a fantastic save but the follow-up⊠I think the penalty is really harsh on us. We hit the bar so for large parts of the game we were well in it.
âBut the game ran away from us. We didnât defend well in the big moments and weâve been punished.â