Christian Benteke says he is aiming to reach double figures for Crystal Palace in the Premier League this season for the first time since 2017.
Christian Benteke said “That would be a good season. But there’s three more games to go, so hopefully I will finish on a high. We’ve got some great games, especially our game against Arsenal at home with our fans – we look forward to it. But first, on Sunday, we’ve got a tough game against Aston Villa and we’ll see how it goes.”
Palace started strongly against Southampton, but saw Danny Ings grab an equaliser in the first half. They then missed opportunities to retake the lead, with Luka Milivojevic seeing a penalty saved by Fraser Forster shortly before half-time. And following the break, Southampton got an early goal of their own through Che Adams to pile on the pressure. Benteke had chances to get Palace back into the game, but saw a header saved and a gilt-edged opportunity blocked behind for a corner. The striker admitted that Palace need to be more clinical in front of goal.
Christian Benteke said “We had a great start and then had a couple of chances to have scored more, but we didn’t and Southampton were more efficient than us. After our early goal they didn’t give up, they kept going. They came back in the game but we could have done better with some of our chances. For a striker it is important to score and it is just a personal part where you feel pleased to score, but, in the end, we didn’t win and, as a team, you just want to keep winning games – that’s the most important. I’m doing well and I just want to keep going and keep pushing myself, working as hard as I can. I feel mentally and physically strong and fit, and that’s the result of my work.”
The Belgian striker has had a difficult time at Selhurst Park over the previous three seasons, but is in good goalscoring form as the 2020/21 season reaches its conclusion. With his contract up at the end of the season and his performances improving, the striker has now bettered his goal tally of the last three seasons combined during this campaign. The 30-year-old grabbed his eighth goal of the season away at Southampton as Roy Hodgson’s side ultimately fell to a 3-1 defeat at St Mary’s. It was the second game in a row in which the striker had scored in the opening two minutes, and he says that with three games remaining, a double-digit campaign in front of goal would represent a success.
