April 01, (THEWILL) – On Roy Hodgson’s return to the dugout, Crystal Palace clinched a last-gasp victory against relegation-threatened Leicester City, thanks to a late goal by Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Despite Palace dominating the first half with 20 shots, they were unable to find the back of the net until Leicester’s substitute Ricardo Pereira scored early in the second half.
However, Palace managed to level the score only three minutes later when a free-kick from Eberechi Eze hit the crossbar and went in off goalkeeper Daniel Iversen’s back. Unfortunately, Palace captain Wilfried Zaha was forced to exit the match in the first half after pulling up with a groin injury.
The hosts sealed a dramatic win when Mateta scored deep into stoppage time, turning his defender before putting away a low cross from Jordan Ayew. This victory puts Palace in 12th place and five points clear of the relegation zone, while Leicester remains in 18th place and one point adrift of safety.
On Tuesday, Brendan Rodgers will hope Leicester will ease the pressure on him when they host Aston Villa while Palace are away to Leeds on Sunday.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
