Play Wilfried Zaha through the middle – sticking him wide weakens Palace attack

Wilfried Zaha is too clinical to be wasted out on the wing.

While it’s only October, this Premier League appears to be the toughest the Eagles have been a part of since promotion back to the top flight in 2013, with promoted Nottingham Forest spending north of £140million to try and secure at least 17th in the table.

And the Ivorian was once again the figurehead who clawed a Crystal Palace side from a goal down to pick up an extremely crucial three points against Wolves on Tuesday evening.

The visitors hadn’t scored in their previous 73 shots away from home in the Premier League, so they duly took the lead with their second shot on target in the 31st minute at Selhurst Park.

Hugo Bueno was afforded the freedom of the right-hand side of the Palace defence to whip a cross towards the back post, with Adama Traore peeling away from Tyrick Mitchell and stooping low to head into the lead.

Palace could count themselves lucky to only be a goal down heading into the break. Ruben Neves crashed an effort off the post from one of his trademark long-distanced free-kicks.

But when Neves rolled the ball back to Max Kilman to signal the start of the second half, Palace’s new-found purpose and intent was instantly evident.

It only took 60 seconds for Eberechi Eze to meet Michael Olise’s inch-perfect cross at the back post for Palace to draw level.

Zaha had been largely nullified and frustrated by Nelson Semedo, but a tactical tweak saw the 29-year-old move inside and closer to striker Odsonne Edouard.

The change in system unleashed Zaha’s attacking freedom, and a handful of the passages of play in the second half were simply majestic from the Eagles, in particular a moment of magic sparked by Zaha. He toyed with Daniel Podence, Joseph Hodge and Joao Moutinho, brushing all three aside in his own area and laying the ball off to Cheick Doucoure.

The Mali midfielder switched the ball to Joel Ward, with a sequence of passes eventually working the ball to Olise. An incisive chip back inside from the young Frenchman hung the ball in the air for Edouard to attack with a bicycle kick.

Although the shot sailed wide, it felt like the Palace side of last season – attacking flair clicking together with Zaha, the puppetmaster, pulling the strings.

There had been a fleeting thought last season that an over-reliance on Zaha had passed, and the new-look snazzy Palace side could prove they didn’t just need their all-time Premier League goalscorer to win games.

The truth is, while the jinky winger who beats players with trickery and pace was crucial, the cultivated, ruthless finisher is arguably more important to the Eagles than ever. He has scored the same number of goals as Kai Havertz and Bruno Fernandes [14] combined in 2022- only Erling Haaland, Ivan Toney, Heung-min Son and Harry Kane having found the net more.

Zaha gave Palace all three points in the 70th minute when Edouard latched on to a defence-splitting pass from Eze. The cutback found its way to Zaha just inside the area, and he personified coolness to send Sa the wrong way..

STAR MAN
Wilfried Zaha – Grabbed the game by the scruff of its neck.

BEST MOMENT
Passage of play that saw Edouard produce an overhead kick. Liquid football.