Patrick Vieira has claimed that there was ‘frustration’ at Liverpool’s actions towards Wilfried Zaha during Crystal Palace’s 3-0 defeat at Anfield on Saturday, as he told his post-match press conference.
The Crystal Palace boss was reacting to claims of Liverpool’s fouls on Zaha during the weekend encounter and how they were ‘real smart’ in what they were doing.
Unlike Liverpool, their weekend opponents aren’t blessed with star-studded players throughout their XI.
But they do have one name that jumps out on the page in Zaha, who if you stop him, then you can prevent Palace from causing less damage in the final than they would do with their quick-footed whizkid on the ball.
After the game, Vieira was asked about Zaha getting ‘upset’ regarding those ‘smart fouls’ and whether he spoke to the player about the situation.
“No, no I didn’t speak to him yet,” said Vieira “But there were situations where he managed to go through on the one v one, we had another chance to create another situation, but obviously, they make some real smart foul.
“They didn’t get punished for that and that was a reason why there was frustration.”
Whether Zaha is on home soil or on the road, he will get supporters, both his own and the opposition on their feet.
The Ivory Coast star is a box-office footballer, with a bag of tricks, aggression and a forward-thinking style that gets the best out of his opposite number.
Some may also feel that Zaha, who donned Manchester United’s colours early on in his career, has the talent to strut his stuff in Europe.
But despite the recently-concluded money-crazy transfer window, someone like Zaha wasn’t talked about much, nor has another team dug deep into their pockets to lure him towards their direction.
Perhaps his early stint at Old Trafford is off-putting to potential buyers, either way, what is another team’s loss is Palace’s gain.
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