Wilfred ZahaGetty

Zaha scores 70th Crystal Palace goal on 400th appearance

Wilfried Zaha marked his 400th Crystal Palace cap with a goal as the Eagles settled for a 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion in Monday's Premier League game.

Having started against the Seagulls, the Cote d’Ivoire international reached a quadruple century of appearances for the Eagles – thus, becoming the fourth joint-most capped player in the club’s history.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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To mark this milestone, the 28-year-old found the net from the penalty although Patrick Vieira’s men could only settle for a point at Selhurst Park as the visitors restored parity through Neal Maupay’s last-gasp effort.

Palace came into the game hoping to erase the disappointing memories of their 3-0 away defeat to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, while Brighton were hoping to extend their winning streak to four.

The cracker got off to a sizzling start as Jordan Ayew and Conor Gallagher created scoring chances from opposite sides of the box, with the latter forcing a clearance from Lewis Dunk after a shot was goal-bound.

However, it was the hosts who were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead on the stroke of half-time as referee Andre Marriner pointed to the penalty spot after Gallagher was tripped in the box by Belgian midfielder Leandro Trossard.

Zaha stepped up to take the ensuing kick which he smartly slotted into the net after sending goalkeeper Robert Sanchez in the wrong direction.

That goal proved to be the African star’s 70th goal for Crystal Palace in all competitions since joining them permanently from Manchester United in 2015.

Also, the winger has scored more goals (eight) against the Seagulls than against any other side in English football (in all competitions). Interestingly, Zaha has scored five goals in his last five matches against Graham Potter’s men at Selhurst Park.

While it looked like Vieira’s team would be coasting with maximum points, the visitors’ ruined the party through Maupay – who lobbed the ball past goalkeeper Vicente Guaita after he was teed up by Joel Veltman.

Zaha was in action from start to finish for Palace but Ghana’s Ayew was subbed off for Jeffrey Schlupp with four minutes on the clock. Whereas, Senegal’s Cheikhou Kouyate was introduced for Luka Milivojevic in the 72nd minute.

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