Sheffield United 0-2 Crystal Palace: Eze helps Eagles secure Premier League safety

Christian Benteke is enjoying his most prolific spell for Palace since the end of the 2016-17 season

Crystal Palace secured their Premier League status for another season with a comfortable victory at already-relegated Sheffield United.

Christian Benteke scored with a deflected shot after 66 seconds to claim his fourth goal in 10 games for Palace, and had chances to improve that tally.

The Belgian striker, 30, had a point-blank header saved by Aaron Ramsdale before firing against a post in the second half.

Captain John Egan spurned Sheffield United's best chance of an equaliser shortly after the interval, slicing over from a corner from six yards out.

But Ebere Eze broke forward late on to convert a second and secure the Eagles' first win in five games, putting them beyond reach of third-bottom Fulham.

That capped a fine performance by the English midfielder, 22, who breezed past Egan in the opening minute before laying off to Benteke, whose shot struck George Baldock and bounced over Ramsdale into the Blades' net.

Jeffrey Schlupp's cross then picked out Benteke, who is out of contract this summer, but he directed a free header too close to Ramsdale.

Benteke also struck a post after dispossessing John Fleck, while substitute Jordan Ayew twice went close to a rare goal.

And the Blades, who handed 17-year-old striker Daniel Jebbison his debut off the bench, offered little in response as their miserable season lurched closer to several unwanted records - such as most defeats and fewest goals scored in a Premier League campaign.

Impressive Eze again shows his potential

Only Wilfried Zaha (12) has been directly involved in more Premier League goals for Palace this season than Ebere Eze (nine), who has a team-high five assists

Sheffield United are already preparing for life back in the Championship and, after securing a ninth straight season in the top flight, Palace are also set for a rebuild this summer.

Manager Roy Hodgson and half of the matchday squad at Bramall Lane are out of contract at the end of the season, or returning to their parent club.

An announcement is yet to be made on whether Hodgson, 73, will extend his lengthy managerial career or Palace will seek a replacement, but whoever is in charge at Selhurst Park next season, they can rely on the services of two of England's most promising youngsters.

The Eagles have signed Eze and Tyrick Mitchell, 21, to long-term deals and they could be mainstays in the Palace side for years to come.

Deployed in an attacking midfield role, Eze continued an impressive first season since making a £19.5m move from Championship side QPR.

He was central to most of Palace's best play, showing his pace and poise on the ball. He laid on the opener and dispossessed Chris Basham before firing narrowly wide.

In the first half, Eze also found Wilfried Zaha, whose shot was blocked by Egan, and he burst forward again to clinch victory. After breaking down the left, Eze cut inside, feinted past a couple of defenders and then scuffed a shot into the bottom corner.

Mitchell, meanwhile, was comfortable at left-back but for a clumsy tackle on Sander Berge, making his first start since December, which might have been given as a penalty.

Palace now need three wins from their last four matches to reach 50 points for the first time in a Premier League campaign. If Eze and Mitchell continue to develop, the Eagles will hope to be challenging for a top-half finish next term.

'We've got some very dangerous players' - what they said

Sheffield United's interim manager Paul Heckingbottom: "Aaron Ramsdale's been excellent while I've been in this job. Today was probably his best game yet.

"The bit I really like about these players is their honesty. It was there to see again for the full game but I think it cost us today. You don't get a free-kick if you don't go to ground now. We would have had a penalty if Sander Berge had gone down. The way the game is officiated is promoting that type of behaviour from players.

"Daniel Jebbison's got a lot of attributes. There's lots of good work going on behind the scenes. He gets on the end of things in the box but he's only 17 so a lot more to come from him. He did himself no harm today with the way he performed."

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson: "I'm happy we bookended the game in terms of the goals but there was a long period in between where we played some very good football and created some very good chances. Unfortunately we weren't able to take them or found a goalkeeper in exceptional form.

"[Benteke] has had three difficult seasons before this one, and even the first part of this one, and hasn't been that lucky with injuries. Now we've had him available for a long period and I think he's got better and better. He's always worked hard for us and done the job, tactically, that we've asked him to do. But forwards need goals and when you're not getting them, unfortunately people will scrutinise your performance harshly.

"We've got players like Jeff Schlupp, Ebere Eze and Wilfried Zaha who, if we can get them on the ball behind the opposing team's midfield with space in front of them, they're very dangerous players. They're all good runners with the ball and that's something we were fortunate enough to do today.

"We've stayed well away from the relegation zone this season and, with a bit of luck, we'd have kicked on further. We had some injuries to key players. But we've got four games to get some more points on the board, and today it didn't look like a team that thought the season was over."

Benteke's long-awaited return to form - the stats

• Christian Benteke has scored more goals this season (seven in 27 games) than he managed in his previous three Premier League campaigns combined (six in 71 games).

• Benteke (79 goals, 21 assists) became the fourth Belgian player to be involved in 100 Premier League goals - alongside Romelu Lukaku (148), Eden Hazard (139) and Kevin de Bruyne (118).

• Benteke's opener (66 seconds) was Crystal Palace's earliest Premier League goal since James McArthur's strike against Everton in November 2017 (51 seconds).

• In Premier League history only Derby County in 2007-08 (22), Leeds United in 1996-97 (21) and Huddersfield Town in 2017-18 (21) have failed to score in more games in a single campaign.

• Palace were the 11th different side to complete a league double over Sheffield United this season - in Premier League history, only Derby County in 2007-08 have lost both league matches against more opponents (12).

What's next?

Palace are away to Southampton on Tuesday (20:15 BST) before hosting Aston Villa next Sunday (12:00), the same day Sheffield United visit Everton (19:00).

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