Crystal Palace 3-1 Aston Villa: Wilfried Zaha scores twice as Palace earn first win of season

Wilfried Zaha scored twice as Crystal Palace earned their first win of the season after coming from a goal down to beat Aston Villa in a lively encounter at Selhurst Park.

Villa got off to the perfect start when Ollie Watkins fired low past Vicente Guaita to give the visitors a fifth-minute lead.

But Palace restored parity on the counter less than three minutes later through the impressive Zaha, who shook off Ezri Konsa and beat Emiliano Martinez with a low shot.

The hosts thought they had turned the game on its head when Jeffrey Schlupp struck after 26 minutes only for VAR to adjudge that Odsonne Edouard had strayed offside before finding the Ghana midfielder.

However, VAR later awarded Palace a penalty after Marc Guehi's back-post header struck Lucas Digne's arm, with Zaha scoring on the rebound having seen his spot-kick saved by Martinez.

Substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta wrapped up the win for Palace with a well-taken strike - only a minute after replacing Edouard.

"Today, we had a really good performance," said Palace boss Patrick Vieira.

"From the first minute until the last we played with a lot of intensity and I was really proud of the players.

"It's one of the most consistent performances that we had from the start to the end."

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Zaha shines for impressive Palace

On target in the draw at Liverpool on Monday, Zaha took centre stage for Palace once again as he inspired Vieira's side to a deserved win with his all-action display ably supported by the lively Eberechi Eze.

But Zaha and his team-mates had to do it the hard way after Watkins struck early for Villa, sweeping a confident shot into the bottom corner after Tyrone Mings' long ball was flicked on by Leon Bailey.

Palace responded strongly, however, and were back on level terms when Zaha scored on the counter just moment after Villa playmaker Emiliano Buendia had seen a penalty appeal waved away following Cheick Doucoure's challenge.

The hosts pushed for a second before the break but were frustrated as Schlupp misjudged a free header before being denied by VAR, while Edouard's appeal for a penalty was turned down following a tussle with Mings.

Zaha then weaved his way around a couple of Villa defenders before pulling a cross back to Jordan Ayew, whose first-time shot was pushed away by Martinez.

While Bailey struck the crossbar for Villa with a curling effort six minutes after the break, Palace profited from a lengthy VAR check after Guehi's header struck Digne's arm.

Martinez beat away Zaha's effort from the spot but the Ivorian was on hand to lash home the rebound and was also involved in Palace's third, playing Tyrick Mitchell in down the left, enabling the England full-back to cross for Mateta to condemn Villa to a second successive defeat on the road.

Zaha's double takes the 29-year-old to 12 Premier League goals for 2022, matching Luka Milivojevic's club record for most goals in a calendar year.

"For me, it's harsh," Gerrard said of the penalty.

"I'm not sure what Lucas can do in the situation. He tries to compete honestly for the ball, he tries to jump naturally.

"He's not trying to gain an advantage or stop the header on goal. It's a complete accident."

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