Roy Hodgson enjoys dream Palace return as last-minute goal seals Leicester win
Roy Hodgson showed he's no joke on April Fool's Day as he made a dream winning return as Crystal Palace manager.
It looked as though Palace, despite dominating this game against relegation rivals Leicester City, were going to have to settle for a draw but Jean-Philippe Mateta fired home with the very last kick of the game to seal a deserved win. The victory moves the Eagles five points clear of the relegation zone while Leicester drop into the bottom three and, on Saturday's evidence, face a fight to avoid the drop.
Much has been made of Hodgson's shock return home to south London at the age of 75, given the relief from sections of the Eagles support when his four-year tenure came to an end two years ago. But, after Patrick Vieira was given his marching orders last month on the back of a 12-game winless run, the veteran manager got the call once again from Steve Parish.
And so, here we were, Hodgson back at his old stomping ground - and with 10 huge games to keep Palace in the Premier League after a disastrous year so far. How would he fare against a Brendan Rodgers' Leicester side also fighting to avoid the drop to the Championship?
Well, as returns go, this went pretty well. They battered the visitors in the first half, registering 20 shots at target in the first half - but things took a turn for the worse when Wilfried Zaha left the pitch in tears just before the break with a groin injury.
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Everything that Palace did well came through Zaha and things weren't quite the same with Jordan Ayew thrown into the mix. They were made to pay for their lack of cutting edge when Foxes half-time sub Ricardo Pereira rifled home a rocket for the visitors 11 minutes into the second half.
Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace celebrates after scoring the winner against Leicester CityWithout Zaha, Hodgson needed his other flair players to deliver; they duly stepped up and, within three minutes of going down, the hosts were level. Palace found themselves with a free-kick 25 yards out and Eberechi Eze's stunning effort smashed the crossbar and came off the unfortunate Foxes goalkeeper Daniel Iversen to restore order in south London.
You could sense the atmosphere changing in the ground, with Palace knocking on the door for a winner in front of their anxious supporters. They huffed and puffed and it eventually came with the last kick of the game, as Mateta kept his cool in front of the Holmesdale Road end to send Palace fans wild.
It was some finale, given there were fears that Hodgson would be given an underwhelming reception when he stepped back onto the Selhurst Park turf for kick-off. Any concerns were immediately quashed as he made his way to the dugout for his homecoming. Scarves were raised and Palace fans were in fine voice as they attempted to spur their team on for this crunch relegation clash.
The manager made some big calls in his line-up too. He was perhaps fortunate that he had Vicente Guaita to call on again; the Spanish goalkeeper had been out injured and youngster Joe Whitworth was between the sticks for the losses at Brighton and Arsenal before the international break.
Roy Hodgson looks on during the game between Crystal Palace and Leicester CityThe boldest call, perhaps, was giving Zaha the captain's armband. Marc Guehi has been Palace's stand-in captain for the out-of-favour skipper Luka Milivojevic but Zaha - arguably Palace's most reliable player in Hodgson's previous spell - was given the nod on Saturday.
Eze and Joachim Anderson also returned to the side with Hodgson fielding a surprisingly-attacking team - and they showed their intent in the opening exchanges. In fact, Palace could have been up in the first minute but Zaha, who was found on the edge of the block, saw his shot blocked.
That was the theme for much of the opening 10 minutes, with Cheick Doucoure seeing his long-range snap-shot marvellously saved by Iversen. But then Leicester almost took the lead against the run-of-play.
Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace celebrates after playing a part in his team's equaliserIn what was their first meaningful attack of the game, Victor Kristiansen's floated cross caught Guaita off guard and the ball cannoned off the post with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall inches from heading in at the back post. Normal service quickly resumed though; and Iversen kept Leicester in the game with a string of fine stops from Eze and Zaha.
Palace's attacking intent on Saturday was the polar opposite to what was on show in Hodgson's previous spell - and it was a joy to watch. But, as has been the case all season, they've been vulnerable on the counter-attack and Leicester showed glimpses of their threat.
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However, the hosts looked in control for the majority of the first half and could have had three of four goals - but went into the break goalless. Hodgson has clearly made an impression in the two weeks he worked with his squad during the international break.
Leicester City's Ricardo Pereira celebrates scoring his side's first goal of the gameHis gameplan was obviously to get his team on board as quickly as possible; that perhaps explains why he named Zaha as his skipper. But he was forced to rethink his approach when the Ivory Coast star went down holding his groin.
The second half was a different story. Rodgers seemingly gave his side a telling off at half-time and they came out for the second period a much better team. Eleven minutes into the half and they were one goal up, thanks to half-time substitute Pereira's stunning effort.
Palace battled back, although they were slightly fortunate to see Eze's free-kick hit the impressive Iversen via the crossbar and trickle over the line. And then, when Hodgson thought his luck was out, Mateta came on to score a stunner winner and ensure the veteran manager had the last laugh at his critics.
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