Watford 1-4 Crystal Palace: Patrick Vieira’s side end seven-game winless run

This was an ideal time for Patrick Vieira and Crystal Palace to break their 2022 duck.

Up against the man he succeeded, Roy Hodgson, Vieira came out on top at a point in the season when the south Londoners’ form was, for some, beginning to require a resumption of the debate about their new direction.

Palace had improved in virtually area since swapping Hodgson for Vieira last summer except, crucially, their points tally having won just one of their previous nine league games and none this year.

So the three points secured at Watford, Hodgson’s new home, were precious and timely.

They came, firstly, thanks to first-half goals from two players who have benefitted from Vieira’s arrival – striker Jean-Philippe Mateta and on-loan midfielder Conor Gallagher.

While Hodgson would have needed no reminding about the talents of Palace’s most influential performer at Vicarage Road and scorer of their third and fourth goals Wilfried Zaha.

A big reason why the former England manager was able to keep the Eagles in the Premier League for four years and pantomime villain in these parts due to his history with Watford and their mascot Harry the Hornet, the jeering seemed to only inspire Zaha.

That was bad news for Hodgson who saw his side fail to build on their win at Aston Villa, miss out on the chance to move to within a point of safety and be booed off.

For the first 15 minutes Palace did what they do under Vieira, pass and move better than they had before him.

Watford did what Hodgson’s teams do too, shuttle around the pitch in organised fashion in a bid to limit their opponents chances. Palace needed to speed things up to destabilise their hosts and when they did they scored. Michael Olise and Conor Gallagher combined down the right, Samir failed to cut out his cross and Jean-Philippe Mateta pounced, spinning, shooting and finding the net with the help of a deflection off Kiko Femenia. That goal meant Watford set a new unwanted Premier League record of going 18 home games without a clean sheet.

It was also the start of a flurry of activity. Watford, who began knocking the ball around with increasing confidence, levelled when captain Moussa Sissoko flew through the air to beat Jack Butland and head in Femenia’s corner. Mateta and then Emmanuel Dennis, for Watford, both had threatening moments. 

Tyrick Mitchell should then have done better than shoot high and wide after being released by an impudent flick from an in-the-mood Wilfried Zaha who created another Palace chance soon after for Olise which was well-saved by Ben Foster. The second goal Palace had been threatening duly arrived just before half-time. 

Watford looked to have escaped when Mitchell’s first cross hit his own teammate, the returning Will Hughes. But his second attempt was brilliantly touched away from Hassane Kamara and into space by Gallagher before the England midfielder dispatched a finish that the build-up deserved into the top corner.

From a brilliant break at the start of the second, Palace should have extended their lead.

Zaha was again involved, releasing Mateta who burst clear but bent his finish beyond Foster and his far post.

Watford were struggling to create chances so, in the context, the two half chances that fell to Emmanuel Dennis were not ones they could afford to waste.

And in the final five minutes they were made to pay. Ayew was given too much time to dig out a cross and Zaha was given the same to control and create space for a shot which he drilled past Femenia and Foster and making sure he savoured the moment as he celebrated.

And Zaha was not done there, cutting in from the left and firing brilliantly and emphatically into Foster’s far corner.