Wilfried Zaha has explained how Crystal Palace was able to deny Manchester United all three points in Wednesday’s Premier League clash at Selhurst Park.
United was on the verge of securing the win against Palace following Bruno Fernandes’ first-half opener.
But Michael Olise’s superb free-kick in stoppage time earned Palace a share of the spoils.
A win for United would have seen them cut Arsenal’s lead to six and move them up to the second place.
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And reacting after the game, Zaha hailed his teammates’ perseverance until the very end of the game.
“I think that’s what the team needs. That was the difference: our never-say-die attitude,” Zaha was quoted on Palace’s website. “Every 50/50, we went in at 100 percent, and obviously we got what we deserved.
“It was amazing. Obviously, we’ve got the talent in the team and one thing that the gaffer has cracked on about is just contesting the games. The talent shows through in the end when we managed to get a point.”
Olise’s injury-time free-kick may have secured the draw, but Zaha himself came close to turning one point into three in the final minute.
A frantic finish saw Casemiro miss from point-blank range for United and, with Palace breaking, Zaha was set free on goal, only for former teammate Aaron Wan-Bissaka to pull off a breathtaking last-ditch challenge.
“We nearly won it at the end!” Zaha joked. “[If it had been] any other player…
“As I was running through, I looked back and thought: ‘oh my gosh, it’s Aaron [Wan-Bissaka]’! He’s the only player who can do that ‘scoop’ tackle. It was a great tackle – I can’t say anything about it.
“That performance, the fans deserved it. I’m buzzing for the lads really. We all worked so hard and what happened at the end for a point, it just gives us confidence going into the next games.”
