Palace were rampant at times and their manager Patrick Vieira described the performance as one of the best since his arrival last year. Vieira, who preferred to focus on his collective strength rather than the many individual ones, said: “I am very happy. From the first to the last minute we played with a lot of intensity. I’d say it’s one of the most consistent shows from start to finish.” A home win was out of the question after Villa opened the scoring with their first strike. Leon Bailey carefully cleared a long ball from Tyrone Mings into the path of Watkins and the striker swept his low strike past Crystal Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita. But the home side hit back immediately with Zaha launching a bulldozer from the halfway line, beating Ezri Konsa to curl a low shot into the net for a swift equaliser. The home side thought they had taken the lead midway through the half after Odsonne Édouard set up Jeffrey Schlupp for a low finish. Palace’s delight was quickly curtailed with VAR ruling that Edouard had gone offside. Eberechi Eze provided a significant threat for the home side and the talented striker unleashed several devastating runs that left Villa struggling. Palace went close again after Zaha set up Jordan Ayew but his low shot was safely saved by Aston Villa goalkeeper Amy Martinez. The lively hosts were again in the ascendancy early in the second half and a long pass from Joachim Andersen found Ayew, but Martínez reacted quickly to smother the ball. However, Villa still posed an occasional threat and the visitors were only denied a second goal when Bailey cut inside and curled a sumptuous strike from the edge of the area that skimmed the crossbar. Palace responded and Ayew played the ball to Édouard but he dragged his effort wide of the post to the dismay of the home fans. Villa were awarded a penalty after 58 minutes when Lucas Digue was adjudged to have handled the ball from Mark Guehi’s header. Referee Andy Madley checked the monitor, following a VAR recommendation, before pointing to the spot. Villa manager Steven Gerrard said: “A big moment against us with the penalty. It’s hard for me. I’m not sure what Lucas can do. He tries to jump of course and it’s a complete accident. Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Jean-Philippe Mateta retires after sealing victory. Photo: David Horton/CameraSport/Getty Images “The players are trying, but obviously the momentum changed with the penalty. It’s not the reason we lost the game, but it’s definitely a big turning point.” Gerrard complained about Villa’s lack of consistency after last weekend’s win over Everton and will be worried about back-to-back away defeats to start the season. Zaha stepped up and his penalty was saved by Martínez, but he reacted more strongly to bury the rebound for his third goal of the season. Zaha’s 12 league goals in 2022 are surpassed only by Tottenham duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. Eze continued to wreak havoc with the freedom to roam in attack, and a lunging run was only halted by a vital block from Digne. Palace turned on the style and produced a superb third goal with Mateta firing the ball into the net – from his first touch – following a tasty cross from Tyrick Mitchell following a one-two with Zaha. Selhurst Park were raucous and Eze released Mateta again, but his fierce strike went just wide of the post. Will Hughes should have added a fourth Palace goal but his tame shot was saved by Martínez. It didn’t matter – with Villa running at times – and Palace’s breathless performance provided emphatic evidence of the potential of the squad at Vieira’s disposal.
