Crystal Palace boss again reacts to diving accusations after Wilf Zaha the matchwinner at Southampton

BY ANDREW MCSTEEN

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira directly addressed – again – recent accusations about Wilfried Zaha going to ground too easily after the attacker scored the winner in Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Southampton.

Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips had claimed the Ivory Coast international “dives a lot” following the clash between the two sides on Monday night.

“Wilfried is a fighter, he stays strong on his feet,” said Vieira. “I don’t want him to change his game at all. He’s a goalscorer, he’s a winner. You can play in any ground and you know he will be up for it.”

When asked about Zaha not starting the game, the Eagles boss said: “The game against Leeds was in our legs, especially Wilfried. It was just a turnaround, the plan was for him to come on and it’s important for players to believe, to understand, that we are a team. In that team we have quality players like Wilf and Eze, but everybody has an important role to play.

“Wilfried came on and scored that goal and it was really good for the team.”

Vieira also was keen to stress the importance of the victory today going into the finale of the season and expects more from his team.

Palace are 12th in the Premier League and have four matches left to play. First up are Watford at Selhurst Park on May 7.

“The win today will give us more confidence and belief,” said Vieira. “The belief is good and the confidence is good. What is important for me is for players to understand what we are trying to do.

“When you play that well, when you have possession, when you create chances, you enjoy it even more, but everything is not perfect.

“When you have that much possession you need to use the ball better, we’re still missing a little bit of quality in our last third of passing and this is something we need to work on and improve.”