Patrick Vieira has claimed Crystal Palace’s defeat to Southampton was similar to their loss to Tottenham Hotspur. The Eagles’ FA Cup run ended at the first hurdle following the 2-1 defeat to Southampton on Saturday. Odsonne Edouard’s early opener was cancelled out by a James Ward-Prowse free-kick before Adam Armstrong capitalised on a Palace mistake to seal the game. The loss came days after a 4-0 loss to Spurs in which Vieira’s side created chances but failed to take them and the manager said Saturday’s defeat was another in which his side had opportunities but failed to put them away.
Patrick Vieira said: “The game looked a bit like the game against Tottenham. We had some really good periods during the game, managed to score the first goal and had the opportunities to hurt them a little bit more. We didn’t take our chances. With the quality they have on set-pieces, they managed to score a goal, we lost a bit of momentum, they scored the goal in second-half – and we are out of the competition. Today we created opportunities and chances, but when you don’t score, you leave yourself open. Southampton worked hard to get the win, and congratulations to them.”
Results have not quite gone Palace’s way in recent weeks despite them playing well and having the attempts on goal to pick up wins. And the former France midfielder says that he and his coaching staff will make sure that they will do the work on training pitch to make sure things turn around.
Patrick Vieira said: “I see that at times we can play some really good football and create chances. The mindset has to be better, but to be better, we have to work on that. That will not happen in the next weeks or months, it’s a process that will take time. It’s up to me and the staff to show that taking chances is important in winning the game. Maturity is important. Experience is important. The work we are doing every day is important and me, the manager, and the staff are being more demanding on the players. If we keep demanding from the players, week after week, they will be where we want them to be.”
