Wilfred Zaha was outstanding for Crystal Palace as they took advantage of the controversial dismissal of Matheus Pereira to claim their first points in three games with a rout at West Brom.
Zaha had missed Palace’s previous two matches – both of which ended in defeat – after testing positive for Covid-19 but quickly found his feet again at The Hawthorns with a typically lively attacking display that included two goals and an assist.
It was from his low cross that Darnell Furlong diverted the ball into his own net to give the visitors the lead and his whipped finish into the far corner that restored the advantage after Conor Gallagher’s low, driven equaliser.
Between these two Zaha contributions, though, came the incident that completely altered the complexion of the game – Pereira’s red card.
Christian Benteke then headed the first of his two goals of the afternoon from a Van Aanholt cross just four minutes after his strike-partner’s fine finish.
Zaha was on hand again to tap in from close range to make it 4-1 following a driving run into the box from Eberechi Eze before Benteke added the icing with a lovely finish on the turn.
Palace boss Roy Hodgson said afterwards: “We looked dangerous throughout the game, and I am really pleased.
“In training we do a lot of work on attacking formations and how we try to cause problems. We knew at half-time we would have more of the ball and we had to work hard around the penalty area.
“Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke showed they are goalscorers at heart. Every team would miss their best player.
“Benteke’s work rate pleased me. You can’t judge him just on scoring goals or not, we expect a lot from our centre-forward. I’ve told him if he does that work he will satisfy me.
“Our front four have enormous talent, Premier League quality. If we can get them the ball often enough I’d expect them to score goals.”
