Patrick Vieira was pleased with the performance of Wilfried Zaha against Norwich on Wednesday night despite the winger missing a penalty at a crucial stage in the game.
Zaha had already drawn the visitors level with a sublime, curling finish into the top corner of Angus Gunn’s net early in the second half before Tyrick Mitchell went down under a challenge from Max Aarons in the box moments later and referee Paul Tierney pointed to the spot.
The winger failed to convert from the spot however, dragging the penalty wide of the goal after seemingly kicking his own foot as he went to strike the ball.
Neither team could go on to find a winner in the time that was remaining in the game, though Vieira said he was happy with how Zaha had played in what was his first appearance for the club in 2022 following his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast.
“I think his goal, of course, was fantastic,” Vieira said in his post-match press conference.
“It is one of the goals of the month. It was an unbelievable finish. But what I was really proud of and really happy was about his performance. I think he played well, he worked well and he created chances.
“This is the Wilfried Zaha that I want to see for the rest of the season. It is the Wilfried Zaha I want to see, the one who works hard with his teammates and with the other players to create chances. Today I was really happy with the game that he had.”
Zaha’s miss from the spot was his first in five penalty attempts for Crystal Palace, having scored four out of four prior to last night including strikes from the spot this season against Brighton and Spurs.
“It is unfortunate when you're looking at the number of penalties that he takes and he scores and I think today he didn't and that was the chance that could give us the three points,” added Vieira.
“He didn't score but I do not forget the number of penalties that he's got for us.
"But that's part of the game and I think when you look at the goal he scored and you're looking at the impact that he had on the game, for somebody who wasn’t with us for the last couple of weeks I think it's a good benchmark for him for what I want from him for the rest of the season.”
Palace won’t have long to dwell on the draw as they are straight back into action on Saturday with an away trip to Brentford. The two sides played out a goalless draw during the reverse fixture back in August at Selhurst Park.
