Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa. Premier League.
Selhurst ParkAttendance22,012.
Match report and free match highlights as Ollie Watkins opened for Aston Villa, but this was soon cancelled out by Wilfried Zaha; VAR awarded Crystal Palace a penalty, with Zaha netting after Emi Martinez's initial save; Jean-Philippe Mateta scored with his first touch for 3-1
Sunday 21 August 2022 07:41, UK
A double from Wilfried Zaha helped Crystal Palace to a 3-1 win against Aston Villa, picking up their first Premier League win of the new season, with Steven Gerrard calling a penalty awarded to the Eagles "harsh" after a debatable Lucas Digne handball.
It was an entertaining encounter from the off at a sunny Selhurst Park as Ollie Watkins (5) fired Aston Villa into an early lead. Leon Bailey nodded down a long pass into the striker's path, and he made no mistake in firing past Vicente Guaita.
But the Crystal Palace goalkeeper was rarely tested from then on, and Crystal Palace hit back quickly. Zaha (7) broke from the halfway line before driving into the area and slotting coolly past Emiliano Martinez.
The Eagles thought they had taken the lead late in the first half when Jeffrey Sclupp fired home from Odsonne Edouard's cutback, but VAR deemed Edouard to be offside from the initial free kick.
After Bailey struck the woodwork early in the second half, Crystal Palace soon had a second that counted, with VAR involved again. Lucas Digne was penalised for handball after a Marc Guehi header - expertly saved by Martinez - hit his raised arm.
Referee Andy Madley awarded the penalty after checking the pitchside monitor, with Zaha lining up the spot kick. His initial effort was saved by Martinez - who, despite the scoreline, had an impressive game - but his stop did not go far enough as Zaha easily slotted the rebound (58).
It was a penalty decision deemed unfair by Aston Villa manager Gerrard, who said: "I'm not sure what the rules say but I'm sure there's a rule in there that will go against us, but I felt for Lucas.
"I'm not sure what else he can do, he's going up fairly to challenge for the ball, he's trying to gain leverage and height and the header's hit his arm from less than a metre away.
"Our 'keeper makes a save so it's not like he stopped a goal on purpose... When you need full leverage at the back post and you're in a duel, sometimes your body parts go into unnatural positions. The referees need to show common sense because for me, it's a very harsh penalty and a very harsh rule."
Crystal Palace looked dangerous in every attack and added their third with one of the moves of the game. It was a sumptuous Zaha backheel that saw Tyrick Mitchell burst down the left wing, with his fizzing cross slotted home by a sliding Jean-Philippe Mateta (71), the striker's first touch as a substitute.
The victory sees Crystal Palace register their first three points of the season, following on from their 1-1 draw against Liverpool on Monday Night Football. However, Aston Villa - without defensive summer signing Diego Carlos - were unable to capitalise on the momentum from their first win against Everton last weekend.
The first half was a breathless affair as Zaha quickly cancelled out Watkins' opener. After their equaliser, Palace began to find their attacking feet, although Schlupp's goal to see the hosts ahead was ruled out for offside.
Crystal Palace continued to hunt for a second, but came up against the resolute Martinez. Just after Schlupp's disallowed goal, the goalkeeper denied Edouard at the near post before Aston Villa hacked the ball to safety.
Just before half-time, an unmarked Jordan Ayew drove onto a cross from the left, but his strike was palmed away by a diving Martinez. Vicente Guaita had little to do for much of the first half, but denied Emi Buendia a minute later as the Villa forward sent his strike straight at the Palace stopper.
Villa could have taken the lead six minutes after the break; it was a superb bit of play from Bailey down the right with Mitchell doing his best to not foul the forward. However, that allowed Bailey to cut inside before unleashing a thunderous, curling strike goalwards, only to see it hit the top of the crossbar.
But the tide turned in Palace's favour soon after. Martinez had initially made a superb save from Guehi's header, but after a lengthy VAR check, Digne was judged to have handled the ball. Zaha made sure the hosts' second counted as he netted the rebound from his own saved penalty.
The hosts kept pushing for a third with Villa not offering too much in the other direction despite the introductions of Danny Ings, Philippe Coutinho and Douglas Luiz in the second half.
And Mateta rounded off the victory after a fine, sweeping Palace attack to secure a well-deserved win for the Eagles.
With two goals and an integral part in Crystal Palace's dazzling attacking performance, Zaha takes the plaudits. His backheel for Mitchell to set up Mateta for the third goal was simply sensational.
Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira said of his player after the game: "When you have those kinds of qualities, you're always going to be targeted by opposition teams. He has this fire inside of him that allowed him to get into the game and score goals.
"He's an important player for us and if he keeps playing like he did today in and out of possession, we will be stronger as a teams."
Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira:
"It was a really good performance. From the first minute, we were into the game. We wanted to play with a lot of intensity, to press them high, to win the ball as high as we can and today, we did it.
"We went through a difficult period in the game, but we managed to keep our calm and organisation. I was really pleased with the attitude we showed and we showed some quality as well.
"We always have different tests in any games and going 1-0, we needed to answer straight away. The best way to do it is to keep going forward and with the next chance, Wilfried scored a fantastic goal. That helped us to get back into the game straight away.
Credit to him. He has been out of the game for quite a while and the way he’s bene playing so far has been really good for us. His creativity, his strength in the middle, dribbling at people, creating chances, it’s good but I still believe there is much more to come from him.
"It wasn't easy at all and you always question the team about how do we grow from game to game and today, character and personality wise, we went a step forward.
"In the first half, they were lucky to go in [at half-time] with a draw. We created chances but we didn't score. What we want is to create those chances and with the quality we have, we know we can score goals. Outside of that, it is a well-deserved win for us."
Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard:
"We started extremely well. We got ourselves in front and scored a good goal, but we never kept the lead for long enough. We allowed Crystal Palace back into the game too soon.
"We got to half time at 1-1 and the game is in the balance. We were well in the game for an hour and the big turning point is the penalty.
"I'm not sure what the rules say but I'm sure there's a rule in there that will go against us, but I felt for Lucas. I'm not sure what else he can do, he's going up fairly to challenge for the ball, he's trying to gain leverage and height and the header's hit his arm from less than a metre away.
"Our 'keeper makes a save so it's not like he stopped a goal on purpose, but the punishment is really harsh.
"When you need full leverage at the back post and you're in a duel, sometimes your body parts go into unnatural positions. The referees need to show common sense because for me, it's a very harsh penalty and a very harsh rule.
"Up until then, it's 1-1 at a tough place against a good team and you'd take that before the game. But to concede in the way we did, it was a huge setback for the players and we never reacted well in that moment.
"We didn't defend long balls well enough, we didn't win enough individual duels at the right times in the big moments. I'm not standing here complaining or saying we deserved to win, but for large parts of the game, we were well in it.
"We hit the bar at a key time too, so the moment didn't go our way today and that's the reason why we're on the wrong side of the result.
"I need to get on the training pitch with this team and drill them more, push them more and challenge them more and hopefully we'll improve from it."
Play Fantasy Premier League and see more stats here
Both teams are back in Carabao Cup action in midweek. Crystal Palace travel to Oxford United on Tuesday before hosting Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.
Aston Villa are also playing away at Bolton in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday before welcoming West Ham in the Premier League next Sunday; kick-off 2pm.
