LONDON (Reuters) – Roy Hodgson’s second stint as Crystal Palace manager began with a 2-1 Premier League win over Leicester City on Saturday, as the London side registered their first victory in 2023 thanks to a late winner from Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Palace, who had scored the fewest goals in the league this season, looked like a different team from the one that struggled under Patrick Vieira firing in 20 shots against Leicester — the most any Premier League side has managed in the same amount of time since 2015.
The change in style going forward gave the home fans reason to cheer but Palace could not find a way through a dogged Leicester defence, while Ivorian winger and Palace’s top scorer this season Wilfried Zaha was forced to limp off with a groin injury.
It was Leicester who struck first through Ricardo Pereira, who received the ball at the edge of the box before blasting a shot into the top corner past the despairing dive of Vicente Guaita.
Palace levelled from a free kick three minutes later when Eberechi Eze cleared the wall, saw his shot come off the crossbar and go in off goalkeeper Daniel Iversen for an own goal.
In added time in the second half, Jordan Ayew made a solo run into Leicester’s half and fed Mateta with a through-ball as the French striker finished with aplomb to lift the 12th-placed team up to 30 points. Leicester meanwhile dropped to 18th in the table.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
