Crystal Palace goalscorer Jeffrey Schlupp says he hopes his strike against Aston Villa pleased Patrick Vieira after the Eagles boss had told him to impact the game off the bench.
The Ghanaian international was brought on as a second-half substitute at Villa Park with the Eagles chasing the game following Ollie Watkins’ close-range opener. But it didn’t take long for Schlupp to leave his mark on the game, forcing the ball over the line after Marc Guehi’s headed effort fell kindly to him two yards out.
It’s the second time this season Schlupp has come off the bench to earn Palace a point having done so already in the 2-2 draw against Leicester at Selhurst Park in October. Speaking at full-time on Sunday, the midfielder revealed what Vieira had told him on the sidelines before coming onto the pitch and how he expected his manager to feel after the goal went in.
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“I think he’ll be happy with that,” said Schlupp. “[The instructions were] just to come on, to try and impact the game and I managed to do that straight away. It was a bit of instinct. I thought if I gamble on a second ball it might fall to me. I think there were maybe two phases in between. I thought that if someone gets a flick on then maybe I can get in at the back post and I managed to do that.”
Schlupp also put in a shift defensively as Villa pushed for a late winner, making an important interception from an Emiliano Buendia cross in stoppage time as well as another potentially goal-saving block in the final moments.
“That’s both sides of the game there,” he added. “They started pushing towards the end, and they had the crowd behind them and started to attack. It was a bit of instinct again. I tried to read the game and a ricochet fell at the edge of the box. I got my body in the way and managed to block it.
“[Everton] are a good side. We are right next to each other in the table and I think it showed. Everyone thought it might end in a draw. It was two equal sides going for it today and I think it’s a fair result.”
