Wilfried Zaha is delighted to see Crystal Palace’s striking practice come to fruition.
The winger made it five goals in as many games with the third in Palace’s 3-1 victory over Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday, while Chelsea loanee Michy Batshuayi scored his second in three matches.
Zaha stood out for his all-round play and capped a fine performance by bamboozling the Burnley defence before slotting under Tom Heaton in the 76th minute.
The 26-year-old had gone 18 matches without scoring prior to a goal against Southampton at the end of last month and has not looked back.
He said on cpfc.co.uk: “The main thing is the three points for the team but I’m glad I could add to the goals. To be honest, I score goals like that all the time in training when we play five-a-side, so it’s nice to finally get a goal like that in a game.
“I was thinking, ‘OK, I can’t chop any more times’, so I just made sure I connected with the ball properly and I’m just happy I scored really. All I’m trying to focus on is scoring goals so I’m buzzing (to have scored so many).
“We’re practising shooting all the time and we’re only going to get better. Over time, we’re showing it on the pitch and getting the goals we need.”
The result gave Palace another push towards the safety line but Burnley still have plenty to do.
An eight-game unbeaten run moved them well clear of the relegation zone but they have now lost their last two after defeat by Newcastle in midweek.
Manager Sean Dyche felt they were below par at St James’ Park but was happier with this performance bar some weak moments in both boxes.
He is determined not to lose the feelgood factor, saying: “It’s a tough one. You lose two and then that makes another story. But we’ve just not been beaten in eight so if you put the two and the eight together you’d actually go, ‘Absolutely terrific’.
“The points return in that run of 10 games, I think it’s 18 points. If you’re talking nearly two points a game in the Premier League, that’s a really, really good amount of points. We know we’ve got Liverpool next, they’re different games, we know that. Beyond that, we’ve got a fair run of games.”
England boss Gareth Southgate was once again at Turf Moor, with Heaton and James Tarkowski likely to have been among those on his radar.
“He knows there’s been some good performers lately,” added Dyche. “It’s entirely up to him.”
