Premier League: Exciting Crystal Palace beat West Ham 4-3

• Crystal Palace deservedly beat West Ham 4-3 on Saturday to reach the 40-point mark which was manager Roy Hodgson’s target
• The 75-year-old manager also spoke about Crystal Palace’s chances of surviving relegation saying it’s up to the players to now do their best

Crystal Palace deservedly beat West Ham 4-3 on Saturday to reach the 40-point mark which was manager Roy Hodgson’s target.

West Ham struck first in South London, thanks to Thomas Soucek pouncing on Jarrod Bowen’s weakly cleared corner. Crystal Palace replied a few minutes later through Jordan Ayew to level things at Selhurst Park. Wilfred Zaha and Jeffrey Schulpp then struck to put Palace out of reach.

Wilfred Zaha celebrates his goal against West Ham. Photo/ Football365.

But with so much time still left to play, Antonio headed in at the back post to bring West Ham back into the game. Eberechi Eze converted a penalty midway through the second half to restore Crystal Palace’s two-goal lead. West Ham found their third goal of the match in the 72nd minute, thanks to Nayef Aguerd.

Speaking after Crystal Palace’s 4-3 win over West Ham, manager Roy Hodgson praised West Ham for putting on a spirited fight.

“It was a wonderful first half from our point of view, we played really well, did all the things we hoped we could do and our quality players produced. Quality to West Ham to keep coming down from 2 goals behind, they’ve had a hectic schedule and it was incredible what they were able to do from set pieces, keeping the game alive.” BBC Sports quotes Roy Hodgson.

The 75-year-old manager also spoke about Crystal Palace’s chances of surviving relegation saying it’s up to the players to now do their best.

How Crystal Palace Edged West Ham 

There was a 15-minute delay to kick-off due to turnstile issues at Selhurst Park. But once things were underway, it was pure entertainment for fans watching from the stands and at home.

Crystal Palace started the match by attacking in numbers. However, they were reckless in defence and were made to pay the price as West Ham took the lead. Michael Olise’s poor defensive header from a corner fell for Thomas Soucek, who opened the scoring for the visitors from 12 yards.

Five minutes later, Jordan Ayew fired a shot in at the near post to level the scores. Wilfred Zaha, who was making his first appearance since April 1, completed Palace’s comeback in the 20th minute.

Jeffrey Schulpp then dispossessed Soucek and raced clear before giving Crystal Palace a two-goal advantage. Michail Antonio pulled one back for West Ham five minutes later. The goal was as a result of Palace’s frailty at dead balls as Antonio scored with a close-range header.

Eberechi Eze scored a penalty in the 66th minute to restore Palace’s two-goal lead. This was after he was brought down in the box by Nayef Aguerd. The Hammers defender made amends a few minutes later, scoring West Ham’s third goal which was also from set-piece.

Crystal Palace beat West Ham 4-3. Photo/ Eurosport.

West Ham have scored five goals from corners in their last six Premier League games, which is one more than they had in their first 27 games of the season.