‘It has been really difficult’ – Palace matchwinner Jairo Riedewald earns praise off Patrick Vieira
The 25-year-old scored Palace’s second in the 82nd minute when he collected Jack Bonham’s clearance on the edge of the box and fired a shot through a crowd of bodies.
Riedewald was brought on in the 78th minute to replace Cheikhou Kouyate.
The Dutchman has only featured three times this season in the Premier League under Vieira, with his last appearance in a Palace shirt coming in the 3-2 defeat to West Ham on New Year’s Day.
“He’s been doing well in training. Jairo did really well,” said Vieira. “Left-back was a position that he has played a couple of times, and I am glad that he scored the goal.
“I was really pleased with the reaction after the goal and the players going to him – they understood that it wasn’t easy for him since the start of the season.”
When asked how challenging it has been for Riedewald not to feature more regularly under the Frenchman, he said: “It’s been tough.
“It has been really difficult. It’s not easy for a player not to be in the squad, but he has been a real professional.
“He has always been keeping his head up, working hard and waiting for his chances. Today, when he came on, and the team needed him to score and perform with that energy, he did it really well.
“This is the kind of example that I want from all the players because we have a squad where anybody can play, so what I want is for them to make it really difficult for me to choose the starting 11.
“Jairo, this is what he has been doing, and today he has been rewarded by the hard work he has been doing and his patience.”
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