Crystal Palace Player Ratings vs Southampton: McArthur, Zaha get 7; the ineffective Ayew gets 4

Wilfried Zaha steals the winner for Crystal Palace to help the team achieve their first comeback victory this season at St Mary’s.

Crystal Palace had never won a game this season when they were pegged behind. Wilfried Zaha was on course to change that narrative with a stoppage-time winner to almost guarantee his team’s safety from getting dragged along in a relegation dogfight.

Southampton took advantage of home support in the first half as the Saints dominated the period to a good advantage. For their good pressure from the start, they were rewarded with the opening goal. Oriol Romeu rose the highest to meet James Ward-Prowse’s exceptional corner to give Southampton the lead.

Palace tried to get back into the game with weak build-ups and tame efforts, which barely troubled Fraser Forster in his goal. However, the second half showed a different side of Palace, as they were the more determined side of the two. They were duly rewarded for their efforts as well.

Eberechi Eze met a low cross from Nathaniel Clyne around the 60th minute to drill a low shot past Forster. With the equaliser in the bag, Palace went for the winner and came closer a few times.

However, substitute Zaha did the trick with a brilliant individual goal in injury time to give Palace the late win. The Palace attacker collected a ball from James McArthur and took his shot after spinning with the ball to ward off the defender. With the fantastic strike, Zaha gave Palace some breathing room on the table, with the Londoners moving a few places ahead.

Here is how the Crytal Palace players rated in their late win over Southampton.

Vicente Guaita – 4.5/10

Guaita endured a nervy day between the sticks, as his ball distribution let him down throughout the game. The ‘keeper looked confused whenever he was playing with his feet, while he will be disappointed with his lack of effort in stopping the Romeu strike.

Nathaniel Clyne – 6.5/10

Clyne came up with a telling moment after assisting Eze with the equalising goal. He did struggle against Nathan Tella on the field, finding it difficult to get into the final third.

Joachim Andersen – 6/10

Andersen was lively during this contest, as he showcased the creative side of his game a lot. The defender was an exceptional passer of the ball and did well holding the backline together for most parts.

Marc Guehi – 5/10

Guehi endured a shaky first half and was troubled a lot by Shane Long’s tricky movements throughout his time on the pitch. Despite the late victory for his side, the defender will not remember this afternoon fondly.

Joel Ward – 6/10

An indifferent game for Ward, who at times found it tough going against the pace of Nathan Redmond. He was often seen changing flanks with Clyne and was more comfortable on the usual right-hand side.

James McArthur – 7/10

McArthur did another fine job in the holding midfield role, although he came up with a crucial contribution after assisting Zaha for the winning strike. The midfielder was often breaking up play and made it hard for Southampton to play through the middle.

Conor Gallagher – 5/10

Gallagher, like his attacking teammates, lacked composure in the final third despite getting into promising position far more often. There is a lot more to his game and the midfielder has shown during his form earlier in the season.

Jeffrey Schlupp – 7/10

Schlupp was the player driving Palace forward on many occasions with his top-notch energy levels and lively interplay with teammates. One time, he sprang into the box, but his final touch left plenty of questions as he failed to convert the chance.

Jordan Ayew – 4/10

Ayew could create one good chance, but otherwise, his day was underwhelming. There was not a lot that went his way against the Saints, although his hard work remains unquestionable.

Jean-Philippe Mateta – 5/10

Mateta used his physical prowess to lead the line as he troubled Bednarek with his movements. However, in front of goal, he did not perform so well, as he squandered at least one good chance to score.

Eberechi Eze – 6/10

The 23-year-old could take confidence from his performance, which was not great to start with but yielded an important goal. Eze struck the ball well from a Clyne cross and slotted it home with composure.

Substitites

Wilfried Zaha – 7/10

Zaha barely had any say since coming on but came up with the most important contribution of scoring the winning goal in second-half injury time. The attacker turned brilliantly after collecting the ball from McArthur and slotted it past Forster, much to the heartbreak of the St Mary’s audience.

Michael Olise – 6/10

A lively introduction from Patrick Vieira, as Olise added something different to Palace’s attacking setup. The youngster should replace Ayew for the next game.

Will Hughes – N/A

Hughes was sent on in place of Eze to protect the point that Palace were then on course to earning.