December 13 2017

Wilfried Zaha

Crystal Palace got their second 2-1 win in three home games. Mike Scott looks at the players' performances for a game.

The Eagles have now gone behind in 13 of their 17 league games, but again they showed their resilience and late strength to come back from a goal down to beat a high-flying Watford side who, for most of the game, were the better team.

Zaha, the pantomime villain for Hornets fans, got the last laugh as he slotted a ball across to James McArthur for the injury time winner.

Julian Speroni - 7

A landmark game for Speroni saw him between the sticks for the 400th time for Palace and he got the kind of adulation from Selhurst you'd expect on this kind of occasion.

He undoubtedly stopped Palace from losing by saving a Richarlison one-on-one effort from close range with an hour gone, which would have been too much to come back from.

Aside from that he had a quiet game, although he looked a little nervous at times, playing some loose balls out, including a ball into touch under no pressure.

Timothy Fosu-Mensah - 5

This was possibly Fosu-Mensah's poorest game in a Palace shirt.

Watford dominated large parts of the first half and much of their joy going forward came down his side.

Too many unforced errors, no support for Townsend when he worked inside to create space for overlaps and Richarlison finding far too much space were all issues.

He looked more assured in the second half, but will not keep Ward out of the side on this kind of form.

For tactical reasons, he was swapped out for Bakary Sako (7) who scored his first league goal in forever to level the game and was a menace for the 25 minutes he was on the pitch.

A lovely cross from the left soon after arriving on the pitch will underline how much he can be used as an impact sub.

Embed from Getty Images

James Tomkins - 6

The Tomkins-Dann partnership looked solid enough against the three man attack of Watford, but it took time to grow into the game.

The first 15 minutes Palace looked shellshocked and Daryl Janmaat was given a criminal amount of space to convert his header after three minutes.

As the half progressed, Tomkins began to come into his own and he made a decisive header to deny Richarlison a chance to extend the lead.

Scott Dann - 6

The Scott Dann of old was back in glimpses, seemingly full of confidence following his goal against Bournemouth. Looking assured with the ball, he was the outlet for Speroni on many occasions and he took the place of Sakho as the reassuring figurehead well.

His partnership with Tomkins looked to work well, albeit after a poor start. Unlucky to head a set piece inches wide of Heurelho Gomes' goal before the break.

Jeffrey Schlupp - 5

This was a really difficult night for Schlupp, who could do little to stop Richarlison, Troy Deeney and Andre Carrillo causing problems for him most of the evening.

He was missing for the Watford goal and, while the visitors doubled and tripled up on Zaha, he provided too much space on the wing and had little support.

Was guilty of some really poor passes and also missed a golden opportunity to lay off for Zaha in the second half, instead slicing a shot so far wide that it looked like it had taken a deflection.

Schlupp was the man Tom Cleverley hacked down for his second yellow though, which ultimately led to the visitors' capitulation.

Luka Milivojevic - 7

Another game where Milivojevic looked commanding, putting in some tough tackles (including one that got him a booking for a second game in a row) and providing decent cover for Dann and Tomkins.

His vision looks, at times, superb and he took up the Cabaye role of playmaker a little more than usual, spraying out some good long balls to the wings. Those occasional lazy, short passes are still part of his game, but otherwise he is shaping up to be one of Palace’s most influential players in these tough, scrappy games.

Yohan Cabaye - 5

Cabaye had a lot of trouble stamping any kind of authority on a game where, for the most part, Watford seemed to have flooded midfield and prevented too much intricate passing.

He looked rushed on the ball and, on one occasion, was lucky not to have caused a Watford second, when a heavy touch saw him dispossessed as the last man just inside the Palace half.

His set pieces were menacing, but he may still be suffering the effects on a thigh strain against Bournemouth. Was subbed for James McArthur (8) with 13 minutes of normal time to go, who not only scored the winner, but exploited a tiring, 100-man Watford side by sheer pace and enthusiasm.

Embed from Getty Images

Ruben Loftus-Cheek - 6

In an almost carbon-copy performance to the weekend against Bournemouth, Loftus-Cheek started off as an anonymous figure, coming into the game more towards the end and, particularly, after the introduction of Bakary Sako, when Hodgson offered a more fluid formation.

He still looks to be a little too detached from Benteke, although his partnership with Zaha, shadowing the Ivorian, seems to be what Palace are getting the most joy from recently.

Andros Townsend - 5

Townsend had very little chance to stamp any kind of authority on the game. He drifted in from the right plenty, but in the absence of Joel Ward, got little support for balls out wide and so, for the most part, he looked like a man running into cul-de-sacs.

Was wasteful with a couple of speculative shots. Was substituted for Patrick van Aanholt (5) as part of a tactical change from Hodgson.

Van Aanholt looked way off the pace, but did aid Palace’s cause by a clumsy tackle on Roberto Pereyra that saw him injured and unable to come off, being as Watford had used all of their substitutes. It’s not how you’d like to help win a game, but there’s no denying it helped....

Wilfried Zaha - 8

In truth, for long periods it was not Zaha's evening. In the first half, the boos from the Watford fans and some roughing up from Adrian Mariappa saw Zaha look increasingly agitated and half time came just at the right time, because he looked as though he may get himself into trouble with referee Lee Mason.

But it only takes a moment of skill for Zaha to change a game and, once Tom Cleverley had been sent off, the space he had was ruthlessly exploited. His run and ball across for McArthur's winner was enough in itself to get Man-of-the-Match. To add to that, it was has shot that was saved which Bakary Sako converted for the equalizer. He was the difference between the sides.

Embed from Getty Images

Christian Benteke - 5

After the drama of the Bournemouth game, no one will be more relieved that Palace got three points in an arguably much tougher game than the Belgian.

But he was kept very quiet by the sizeable Watford back three; Sebastian Prodl in particular seemed to have his number. Even 50-50 headers, usually Benteke's bread and butter, were going the visitors' way.

He did create space for Zaha as the game went on, but none of the pressure on him will have been lifted.