Wilfried Zaha stars in Crystal Palace’s five-goal thrashing of Leicester

The majority in this stadium broke away from celebrating their team’s flurry of late goals to serenade Roy Hodgson five minutes from time, the Crystal Palace manager responding with a wave directed at those in the Holmesdale stand. They may not yet be mathematically assured of survival, but this was surely the riotous victory which extended the south London club’s stay in the top flight into a sixth campaign. The manager deserved his moment.

To have effectively achieved survival before the end of April is remarkable. Rewind briefly to September when this team had languished pointless and goalless at the foot of the table after seven games, Frank de Boer’s tenure having already been curtailed with the dust still settling on the summer transfer window. Hodgson came in as an early season firefighter. He has steered the side to 38 points with two games to go without a goalscoring centre-forward, in spite of a crippling injury list, and with no significant additions in January given those recruited mid-season had bolstered the ranks, not the first team.

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from Football | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/apr/28/crystal-palace-leicester-city-premier-league-match-report

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