Patrick Vieira is enjoying an excellent first season as a Premier League manager and has already masterminded some memorable results for Crystal Palace fans.
After being announced as the new Eagles manager in July there were early calls from some football fans that the Frenchman would either be the first top-flight manager to lose his job or that he would oversee a disastrous campaign that would end in relegation.
Neither of those predictions have come remotely close to being fulfilled. In fact, since the start of the Premier League season there have been nine managerial sackings and Vieira’s position at Crystal Palace hasn’t come under scrutiny once. The club are riding the wave of an FA Cup run that will next month take them to Wembley while there’s been zero drop off in their league form as they look set to push for a top-half finish with nine matches remaining.
READ MORE: How Jean-Philippe Mateta became Patrick Vieira's first choice striker at Crystal Palace
Simply put, Vieira has been transformative in all aspects of his time in charge. A dedicated figure who is obsessed with the fine details of the game and management, he has carefully tinkered with his side throughout the season to get the best out of them and to make sure that all 11 players on the pitch carry out his instructions to a T.
But which of his results as Palace boss has been the most impressive so far? We’ve decided to nail it down to the three best moments of Vieira’s reign so far.
MANCHESTER CITY (A) - 2-0 WIN
By virtue of their league position, Manchester City away from home should be the hardest game of any Premier League team’s season. Pep Guardiola’s champions have turned the Etihad into a fortress over the last half-decade and are very rarely beaten on their own turf when at full strength, let alone being stopped from scoring. But Palace made a huge statement of intent when travelling north in October and returning to London with a 2-0 win, becoming the first team of the season to beat City in Manchester and stop them from finding the net.
Vieira has history with City. He won the FA Cup with them in 2011 before hanging up his boots there and transitioning into a coach by completing his badges, all the while building a strong relationship with people like Brian Marwood whom he credits for inspiring him into becoming a manager. Vieira also has history with Guardiola. While he was learning his trade the Frenchman took time out to visit and watch Pep’s sessions at Bayern Munich and later when he’d taken his first club job in charge of New York City, he came back to Manchester to watch Guardiola once again and learn from him.
It all made for the perfect storm at the Etihad in October as Vieira got his tactics spot on, switching up his formation and his players in order to make the game as compact as possible and stop City’s creative players from having space to operate in. Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus were forced out wide where they weren’t able to hurt Palace as much and when the visitors did get the ball they made the absolute most of their chances.
Wilfried Zaha - starting as a central striker rather than on the wing - harried City’s defence all afternoon and was integral along with Conor Gallagher in executing Vieira’s game plan. Both players got on the scoresheet, with Zaha getting things started with an early goal past Ederson before Gallagher finished off the match with a lovely finish following a quick break.
It was a statement victory that even overshadowed the 3-0 demolition of Spurs at Selhurst Park a month earlier. It also confirmed that Vieira hadn’t arrived back in the Premier League with any less passion than when he left it as a player, with his animated figure on the touchline physically willing on his side with every step.
WOLVES (A) - 2-0 WIN
Another away victory and this time it was a trip to the Midlands to face Bruno Lage’s Wolverhampton Wanderers. Palace had caught Wolves cold earlier in the season at Selhurst Park when they came away 2-0 winners but the fixture at Molineux looked to be a much trickier affair on paper.
But by full-time Palace had put in arguably their most complete performance of the season under Vieira. Goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta and Zaha settled a 2-0 victory where the Eagles’ game management was central to their success. They attacked with searing pace and skill during the first 45 minutes to blow away their hosts before resolutely defending their lead and keeping a clean sheet when they were put under pressure in the second period.
For this game, Vieira ensured his team knew to find target man Mateta whenever possible as well as try and use their natural width through Zaha and Michael Olise to create all sorts of problems for the home side. Mixed with Jeffrey Schlupp’s bombing runs forward and the energy supplied in midfield by Gallagher, there was little chance for the hosts, who were at times the makers of their own downfall as they caved under Palace pressure.
“We showed a maturity of the team,” Vieira said after the match. “We showed that we have improved as a team and this is what we wanted to do. From the first game of the season against Chelsea, it was about how we can improve individually to allow ourselves to be more of a team and to become more solid collectively. We know that this team has a potential and the potential is now starting to be seen.”
It wasn’t just Vieira keeping tabs on Palace’s growing reputation either. England manager Gareth Southgate was in attendance at Molineux that day and, less than a month later, named Gallagher, Marc Guehi and Tyrick Mitchell in his England squad for March friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast.
EVERTON (H) - 4-0 WIN
With some of the best performances of the season coming on the road it was fitting that Selhurst Park got to witness the most important result of Vieira’s tenure at home in south London. With an FA Cup semi-final berth on the line Palace fired four goals past Everton and strolled into the competition’s last four for just the fifth time in their history - a remarkable achievement and one that has set them up with a mouthwatering London derby against Chelsea next month.
There was plenty to enjoy about the Eagles’ performance - albeit for a nervous opening 15 minutes - but Vieira’s decision to lace his team full of attacking talent proved to be the most important aspect of it all. For the first time this season, the Frenchman started a game with Zaha, Gallagher, Olise and Ebere Eze together, with Mateta complimenting all four and being the link between them as the central striker. The plan worked perfectly, with all five players playing a part in at least one of, if not more, of the four goals scored on the day.
At full-time and throughout his post-match press conference it was impossible to wipe the smile off Vieira’s face as he knew what he had just helped deliver to the Crystal Palace fans. A trip to Wembley is special already, let alone delivering one in your first season as manager and in a campaign, many had described as being set aside as a ‘building year’.
After conceding late goals against Brighton, Arsenal and Chelsea this season as well as struggling at times to see games out from winning positions, the win over Everton felt even more deserved. Palace took all of their chances when they were presented with them and left the Toffees licking their wounds as they headed back up the M1 to Merseyside.
