Eberechi Eze scored a brace to help Crystal Palace produce one of the comfortable football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. Wilfried Zaha’s deft touch set up the in-form Eze’s close-range goal to open the scoring at Selhurst Park (39), and he scored a remarkable second after receiving a cross from Michael Olise, cutting inside, and finding the top corner from outside the box (58). The midfielder’s 10 goals in the Premier League this season, six of which have come in his last seven games, ensured that Palace moved level on points with 11th-placed Chelsea. The only drawback was a hamstring injury sustained by Zaha, who may have now played his final game for the team as his contract expires this summer.
While Bournemouth’s offensive effort was essentially nonexistent, failing to even record a shot on goal, head coach Gary O’Neil said he would question referee chief Howard Webb about why Palace defender Andersen did not receive a penalty for what appeared to be a punch on Lerma in the first half. Despite sitting eight points above the relegation zone in 14th place after the loss, Bournemouth is still mathematically in danger of dropping to the lower division.
Palace appeared more dangerous right away, with Olise in particular generating issues. He provided an exquisite cross that an unmarked Zaha miraculously failed to score from barely three yards out after curling an early effort a few yards wide. Zaha mistimed his shot and failed to make a clean connection. When Andersen’s hand seemed to make contact with Lerma’s face in the Bournemouth box, a VAR flashpoint ensued. However, a thorough review concluded in favor of the Palace defender, much to the chagrin of Lerma, who kept playing despite the blow.
Soon after, the first goal for Palace was scored. It was a beautifully executed goal, with Zaha brilliantly eluding his defender and delivering a cut-back that Jordan Ayew glanced onto Eze, who finished forcefully. By that time, Zaha had regained his composure after being tightly restrained by temporary right-back Chris Mepham in the early going. Soon after, he came close to scoring again when he collected Andersen’s beautiful cross and missed the left post with a fierce shot. from the interval, the game continued in the same manner with Will Hughes, who was brilliant in midfield, earning a parry from Neto with a well-placed effort from the outside of the box from a corner. Bournemouth could not move out of their own half.
After seeming to hurt his hamstring, Zaha was eventually substituted in favor of Odsonne Edouard, but his departure did not appear to have any impact on Palace’s play as they continued to contain Bournemouth and generate opportunities. The second goal was set up by a superb ball that Olise hammered from one flank to the other. Olise was at the center of most of it. Eze took possession of it before slicing inside, slipping past two Bournemouth defenders, and crashing a powerful finish past Neto. Since Roy Hodgson returned, Palace has won five of its last eight Premier League games because of Eze’s heroics. For the remainder of the game, Palace maintained their lead, and Bournemouth never threatened to get back into it.
“I’m also worried about him. We have guys since we don’t have a lot of injuries right now, but I would have wanted to have him with me for the previous two games as well,” Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson said. “He has to get a scan, so at this time I can’t say whether or not that will happen. However, hamstring injuries always raise the question of how long it will take for them to heal. With a person like Wilf, who has amazing recuperation abilities, a week is not out of the question, but I can’t predict how long it will be until the scan.”
“We had a terrible day today. For the first time in a while, I believe we fell below our level,” Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil said. “39 points is a nice total, but it serves as a good reminder to all parties involved that if we’re not desperate and giving it our all, like we have been recently, battling for every ball and every score, then we’ll get soundly defeated.”
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