Patrick Vieira has had his say on Crystal Palace’s disappointing defeat against Arsenal in the Premier League’s Friday night opener at Selhurst Park. Palace continued to put the pressure on but hopes of rescuing a point were crushed when Marc Guehi turned in Bukayo Saka’s driven cross into his own net with five minutes remaining. In the end, Palace’s defeat came down to one simple factor.
Patrick Vieira said: “The difference between the two teams is that they scored those goals, and we created two really good chances to score. We were in a really good period in the second-half and we didn’t take our chances,” Vieira told Sky Sports post-match. Of course I’m disappointed, because I thought we could score a couple of goals today even though we didn’t create very much, but they took their chances and we didn’t. But football is about trying to score goals. We were playing against a good side. We had chances in both halves and we didn’t take it – in the game you get punished really hard.”
Patrick Vieira added: “It is really difficult to control the game when you play against a team that has so much quality technically. They had a really good period in the first 15 to 20 minutes. I think after that we had the ball, we had situations but we didn’t create very much. In games like that there is a key moment, and in those key moments we didn’t score that goal to lift the crowd and to build even more that momentum. This is something that we have to work on.”
Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira has shed some light on why Christian Benteke joined Wayne Rooney’s DC United ahead of the Premier League opener against Arsenal.
Patrick Vieira said: “This is something he wanted to do. When players want to play, and you can’t guarantee them time or games, you have to let them go. Christian spent six years at this football club, and he was fantastic for the football club. This is something he wanted to do, and we wish him all the best.”
Benteke, who had previous spells in the Premier League with Aston Villa and Liverpool, was the Eagles’ top scorer in his first season with the club, netting 15 times in 36 league games. But goals were hard to come by for the Belgian in the years that followed.
Steve Parish said: “Christian has played a crucial role in this club’s Premier League journey, making an immediate impact after signing and playing a central role in the squad ever since. He’s someone I’ve enjoyed a great relationship with and he’s shown incredible loyalty staying with the club when he could easily have taken other options. We all wish him all the very best with the next stage of his career.”
