Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira admitted that the home supporters play “a massive part” in how Everton play at Goodison Park but acknowledged that his side did not perform in their 3-0 defeat.
The Eagles boss witnessed the power of ‘The Grand Old Lady’ back in May when the Blues fought back from 2-0 down to defeat his team 3-2 and secure their Premier League status but this encounter was far more one-sided.
Vieira said: “We knew that the fans play a massive part in how they play the game, we were prepared for it but we didn’t perform today.”
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Goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Anthony Gordon and substitute Dwight McNeil sealed an emphatic success for Frank Lampard’s side but Vieira – part of Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ during his own playing career – believed his players did not reach their usual levels.
He said: “It was no performance from us. It was bad. We didn’t play. We didn’t compete and we made it easy for Everton.
“We may have to set up in a different way but I do not want to change our principles. There have been times when we have played well and not had the chance to get what we deserve but overall this game does not reflect other games that we played away from home because everything was missing in our game today, and that is something that might need to change.
“This is the first time I have a bad feeling about the way we performed. The performance is nothing to look at the games since I have been at the club.
“We let ourselves down because we did not compete against Everton. They won all the first and second balls, they played to compete and we were second best in every department of the game and in the end we got what we deserved.”
Vieira dismissed suggestions that the problem lay with the character of his squad though and added: “I am never going to question the attitude of the players, I’m working every day with them and I know what they are capable of doing, that’s why it’s important to remain calm and it is important to control our emotions. We played a good game a few days ago and this was a bad game.
“One of the areas in which we need to improve is how can we be more consistent in our performance. Today was a bad day but I am not going to question the attitude or the quality of the squad we had.”
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