Leicester 1 Crystal Palace 4 – Eagles show ruthless counter-attacking to run riot at King Power Stadium

BY MATT WOOSNAM

Crystal Palace thumped Leicester City 4-1 at the King Power Stadium thanks to a superb second-half performance which saw Wilfried Zaha hit a brace in a counter-attacking masterclass.

Michy Batshuayi put Palace ahead with a deft flick from James McArthur’s shot to deflect into the back of the net.

Leicester equalised in the second half through Jonny Evans, but Wilfried Zaha restored the Eagles’  lead, before Luka Milivojevic put the result beyond doubt with a penalty after Jeffrey Schlupp was fouled.

Substitute Jordan Ayew then played in Zaha who raced in on goal and slotted beyond Kasper Schmeichel to put a gloss on a wonderful second half.

In the ninth minute Harvey Barnes did well down the left, and sent in a cross which Jamie Vardy nodded just over Vicente Guaita’s crossbar.

Palace were grateful for some last-ditch defending moments later when James Maddison found space to shoot from the edge of the penalty area, only to find Mamadou Sakho in the way to divert it behind for a corner which the visitors were able to comfortably deal with as Leicester put them under early pressure.

Barnes was involved once again when he struck a good effort from the edge of the penalty area but Guaita was down well to parry it away.

Leicester continued to be the better side, having plenty of the ball but failed to create sufficient clearcut opportunities. When Palace finally looked like getting into the Foxes’ penalty area, it was when they played to feet. Schlupp found Batshuayi who ran at the defence, but in trying to play in Zaha his pass was intercepted and the attack broke down.

Somehow, despite 40 minutes of turgid football in which the only side looking remotely likely to score were the Foxes, Palace took the lead. Zaha was fouled on halfway, and Jeffrey Schlupp played it to Milivojevic who slotted in an excellent pass to James McArthur. The Scottish midfielder took aim from distance and Batshuayi flicked out a leg to divert it into the back of the net.

The half had been dominated by the hosts, but they were incapable of finding any cutting edge. James Maddison took aim from the edge of the area with an hour played, but could only curl wide. The Eagles were frustrating Leicester, and an air of frustration could be felt inside the King Power Stadium. There was tension and what had begun as a fairly raucous atmosphere dampened down.

Yet the decibel level increased dramatically shortly after. A long throw caused the Palace defence problems, and Barnes was able to keep the attack alive, then found Evans who turned the ball home with an excellent finish to find a deserved equaliser on 64 minutes.

But it only took five more minutes for Palace to regain the lead through Zaha. McArthur played a delightful ball to the back post and the winger was able to control his volley to score his sixth goal of the season, and his third in as many games.

Schmeichel had to be at his very best to keep out a Batshuayi shot, but Schlupp was first to the loose ball, and a lazy challenge by Evans saw the midfielder felled inside the area. Anthony Taylor awarded a penalty, and Milivojevic duly converted from the spot for the 15th time in his Palace career.

To cap it off, Zaha raced down on goal in stoppage time and finished with aplomb to pile further pressure on Claude Puel and put the Eagles six points clear of the relegation zone with a fifth consecutive win over the Foxes.

PICTURES BY SEAN GOSLING