Vieira ‘really pleased’ for Edouard as debutant scores brace

James Holland
Odsonne Edouard Palace

Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira says he is ‘really pleased’ for Odsonne Edouard after the striker scored a brace on his debut.

The Eagles were winless heading into the London derby against Tottenham but went on to sweep Nuno Espirito Santo’s men aside at home.

Spurs had trouble from the outset as Eric Dier had to be subbed off due to a muscle injury.


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Palace dominated proceedings for most of the first half and could have taken the lead through the impressive Conor Gallagher.

Wilfried Zaha caused problems on the left flank before playing in the Chelsea loanee. His shot was ultimately saved by Spurs captain Hugo Lloris.

After the break, it became even harder for Spurs as they went down to ten men. Japhet Tanganga caught Zaha with a forceful challenge, resulting in a huge brawl.

Both players received a yellow card for their involvement, but Tanganga did not learn his lesson. Minutes later he dived into a challenge and was sent off.

In the 76th minute, Zaha gave Palace a well-deserved lead. A Gallagher cross hit the arm of Ben Davies and the referee pointed to the spot.

Zaha confidently dispatched of the resultant spot-kick to get his account up and running for the season.

New signing Odsonne Edouard then came off the bench to steal the headlines. Just seconds after replacing Christian Benteke, the Frenchman finished with a left-footed effort.

He secured his brace in stoppage time, taking a couple of touches before firing a shot onto Lloris’ glove and into the net.

When asked about the team performance, Vieira told reporters: “What was really important to us, we needed to win because those players have been working quite well and hard all the weeks since I’ve been here and today everything was perfect, the atmosphere, the stadium, the quality of the game we played today.

“We took the three points and I’m really pleased about that.”

On £14million arrival Edouard, Vieira added: “I’m really pleased for Edouard because he just arrived a couple of days ago and he’s training well with the team and starting to know his team-mates. But the way he finished, it just shows that he’s a proper goalscorer.

“He’s a player inside the box who will take his chances. He’s really comfortable around that area. He’s a goalscorer and I think there is more to come from him.”