Patrick Vieira praised Wilfried Zaha ’s performance against Watford on Wednesday evening as the best the winger has produced for him this season.
The Ivorian scored two late goals to help secure Crystal Palace a first Premier League win since December and heap misery on Roy Hodgson's Watford.
Jean-Philippe Mateta and Conor Gallagher had put the visitors 2-1 up at half-time before Zaha turned on the magic in the final ten minutes to secure the three points.
His first was a powerful shot past Ben Foster from a Jordan Ayew cross that made it 3-1 in the 85th minute before, in stoppage time, he scored a stunning solo effort to add a gloss on an entertaining match at Vicarage Road.
After the game, Vieira was asked what he made of Zaha’s performance after previously telling the winger he needed to show more consistency in front of goal for the Eagles.
“I was really pleased that he scored those two goals because Wilfried played really well,” Vieira told football.london.
“When I say that he played really well, he played really well out of possession – he played with the team and got rewarded with the two goals he scored.
“That was Wilfried’s best performance since I came to the football club. Out of possession, he was fantastic. He worked well, he worked hard, and he supported his teammates.
“When you’re looking at the way he defended from the front, putting opposition players under pressure, winning free-kicks – his performance was the best since I have been at this football club.”
Former Palace boss now Hornets manager Hodgson also fielded questions on Zaha in his post-match press conference.
The 74-year-old spent four seasons working with Zaha at Selhurst Park and knew just how dangerous the winger could be if the ball fell to him in the right spot.
"I’m indebted to Wilfried for four very good years at Crystal Palace,” said Hodgson. “It would have been nice tonight if he chose to blast those two balls over the crossbar but he didn’t."
The win moves Palace up the Premier League table into 11th after they scored four goals in a game under Vieira for the first time. They now face Burnley at Selhurst Park on Saturday and will hope to use victory over Watford as a springboard into the weekend.
“I think today our game was more complete,” added Vieira.
“We defended well, we used the ball quite well. We stuck together in difficult periods and when we had chances we scored in an important moment of the game. So overall, it was a really good team performance.”
