Patrick Vieira says he’s pleased with how Christian Benteke has been producing in front goal recently and is confident the Belgian can keep up his record against former employers Aston Villa on Saturday. With the number of signings that arrived at Selhurst Park in the summer – most notably 23-year-old forward Odsonne Edouard – there was a chance that the Belgian might have dropped down the pecking order at the club. Instead, Vieira said Benteke was an important member of the squad who said despite his advanced years still had a lot he could offer Palace.
Patrick Viera said: “As time goes on you lose your legs a little bit, especially as a striker. But that doesn’t take away from his cleverness and his strength inside the box. I think the way that we play suits him well, I think in the games he creates chances and he is more involved in the game. That allows him to express his talent, create chances and score goals. Something that will never change at 20 years old or 30 is that when you’re a goalscorer, you’re always going to score goals. I’m really pleased, he’s playing with a lot of confidence and belief and that’s really good for us.”
One player at the opposite end of the spectrum is Jean-Phillipe Mateta, who has just four minutes of Premier League action under his belt since the opening day against Chelsea. The on-loan centre-forward from Mainz is seemingly not in Vieira’s plans going forward, though the Frenchman did not rule out the prospect of Mateta still playing a part in the team during the remainder of the season.
Patrick Viera added: “Obviously the manager has to make a decision and the decision is difficult for him. But he has to keep fighting. We’re going to have a really busy period and we don’t know what will happen and players will have an opportunity and it will be important for them to get ready to take that opportunity when he will come.”
