Crystal Palace vs Brentford. Premier League.
Selhurst ParkAttendance25,043.
Free highlights and match report as Brentford nick a point at Crystal Palace thanks to Yoane Wissa's late header; Wilfried Zaha's stunnner broke the deadlock on what had been a frustrating night for both teams offensively; Brentford almost stole all three points in stoppage-time
Wednesday 31 August 2022 06:44, UK
Substitute Yoane Wissa's late header salvaged a 1-1 draw for Brentford at Crystal Palace on Tuesday night.
An unmarked Wissa connected with Vitaly Janelt's cross (88) to cancel out Wilfried Zaha's earlier stunner (59) and a late Brentford onslaught almost saw them take all three points back to west London as Rico Henry and Ben Mee came close to scoring in stoppage-time.
Zaha put transfer speculation linking him to Chelsea and Arsenal to one side as he returned to the starting line-up after a leg injury kept him out of Saturday's 4-2 defeat at Man City and produced a moment of magic to break the deadlock with a strike Brentford head coach Thomas Frank described as "unbelievable".
"I think today we needed something special to score and Wilfried delivered," said Palace head coach Patrick Vieira. "It has never crossed my mind [that he would leave]. There has been nothing coming in from any other club."
Brentford, who move up to ninth with the point, struggled until the final period, but created the three best chances of the game in the last seven minutes. Palace, meanwhile, are up to 13th but will feel like this was an opportunity missed after looking more dangerous throughout the game.
Brentford had more possession early on but the game - which produced two goalless draws last season - showed early signs of ending in a stalemate, with neither side registering a shot on target for the first 18 minutes.
It was Palace midfielder Jeffrey Schlupp who produced the first meaningful opening, as his surging run from deep in his own half right to the edge of Brentford's box allowed him to test Bees goalkeeper David Raya for the first time.
Palace grew into the game thanks in large part to the threat of the returning Michael Olise - making his first league start of the season after a foot injury - and were denied an opener by Aaron Hickey's goal-saving block which prevented Zaha's close-range effort.
Palace continued to pose a threat in the second half as Schlupp fired straight at Raya instead of passing to striker Jean Philippe-Mateta in space in the box, while the impressive Olise curled an effort off the post after cutting in from the right.
Zaha went one better not long after as he got the better of Hickey for the first time on Tuesday evening before beating Raya with a similarly beautiful curling effort into the top corner to the relief of the Selhurst Park crowd.
Brentford came to life in the closing stages, though, as substitute Wissa took advantage of Marc Guehi's ball-watching to head in the equaliser unmarked. Palace sat back to defend the three points, inviting pressure from the visitors - a tactical tweak which almost saw them lose the game in stoppage-time as Vicente Guaita denied Rico Henry and Ben Mee hit the bar.
Wilfried Zaha on BT Sport:
"I'm lost for words. Just one lapse in concentration... it ruins all the hard work. We literally just had to keep it tight. As soon as we went in the lead we just failed to defend.
"I don't see why we do that. If we just continue pressing on, I feel like we could have got a second and it just ends the game but we killed ourselves in the end.
"Our problem right now, which in due time we'll fix, is just the last-minute goals. It just throws away the whole performance. Today is not - by far - our best performance but a game where I feel like we should leave with all three points."
Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira on BT Sport:
"Frustration. It wasn't pretty from our side. I don't think we played well enough to create chances but we managed to score that goal and we needed to defend after that and we didn't do it well enough.
"We nearly lost the game at the end. I'm happy with a point because they maybe deserved it a bit more than us today."
Brentford boss Thomas Frank on BT Sport:
"I'd prefer to stand here and not talk about us coming from behind and just take it from the lead and go home with three points but I need to praise the boys' character. Unbelievable!
"The mentality is not easy. We're not City or Liverpool or Chelsea, we are Brentford and that mentality deep, deep within the players is really good. And the offensive mindset.
"Unbelievable magic from Zaha. What a goal. That is a world-class goal from him. We know he can produce that moment. One moment where we dropped off slightly - boom! Top corner.
"But after that, we proper went for it. We equalised and had two huge chances when we could have taken three points."
Sky Sports' Peter Smith:
Thomas Frank described it as "unbelievable magic" and it certainly felt like Wilfried Zaha was the only player on the pitch at Selhurst Park on Tuesday night capable of scoring his opening goal.
Aaron Hickey had been excellent in the first half, restricting Palace's fit-again talisman and twice blocking his shots at goal. But the right-back only had to give Zaha an inch of space on the edge of the box to be punished on the hour mark.
It was Zaha's 13th Premier League goal of 2022 and fourth goal in four appearances this season. It's no wonder Chelsea and Arsenal have been linked with a late move for him, especially as his Palace contract expires at the end of the season.
Afterwards, Zaha couldn't hide his frustration at Brentford's late equaliser but insisted he was fully focused on Palace, describing the club as a family.
Those bonds could be tested in the coming days if a sizeable offer comes in - and on current form, Palace's London rivals may struggle to recruit a more dangerous forward.
Sky Sports' Zinny Boswell:
In three out of their five Premier League games this season, Brentford have rescued a point thanks to goals in the final 10 minutes. It's becoming somewhat of a habit for Thomas Frank's side.
Josh Dasilva at Leicester on the opening weekend (86), Vitaly Janelt against Everton on Saturday (84) and now Yoane Wissa at Crystal Palace (88). Without those three points, they would be down in 15th rather than ninth.
But it's not something Frank necessarily wants to keep relying on. "I think from a health perspective, the Man Utd game [winning 4-0] is a little bit more healthy," Frank said after the 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace.
At Selhurst Park on Tuesday, Brentford created the three best chances of the match in the final seven minutes. They were unfortunate not to leave with three points, even if they were second best for most of the game.
"I would have loved the drama if we scored for 2-1," said Frank. "But it is very difficult in the Premier League. We know we need to work so unbelievably hard to get every point we can."
There's a work ethic which courses through Frank's side and it means you can never count them out. The worker Bees are always in with a chance, right until the last moment.
Crystal Palace travel to Newcastle and Brentford host Leeds in the Premier League on Saturday at 3pm.
