Wilfried Zaha says he’s not fussed about where rivals Brighton & Hove Albion end in the Premier League this season as long as Crystal Palace finish strongly.
The Ivorian winger - and regular thorn in the Seagulls’ side - has enjoyed a stellar campaign in red and blue this year as Palace hope to secure just a second-ever top-ten finish in the league under new manager Patrick Vieira. Zaha has helped take the Eagles to the brink of that achievement, helping inspire the club to memorable wins over Tottenham, Manchester City and Arsenal among others.
With three matches of the season to go, Palace sit in tenth place on 44 points - one place and three points behind Graham Potter’s Brighton but with a game in hand over them and a better goal difference. Asked whether finishing above their long-term rivals was an incentive to finish the season well, Zaha said he wasn’t paying any attention to what was happening on the south coast.
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“For me personally, I don’t really care where Brighton finish - that’s not my motivation,” the 29-year-old BBC Radio London. “My motivation is for the club to go as high as possible. The season isn’t done until the last whistle is blown and there are no more games left. That’s my motivation - to get this team to finish as high as possible.”
Zaha was speaking at Crystal Palace’s end-of-season awards night in Croydon where he picked up the prize for the goal of the season for his strike against Norwich at Carrow Road in February. The winger received the ball out wide and took a touch past Przemysław Płacheta before firing a perfect, curling effort past Angus Gunn and into the top corner of the net.
That goal was one of 14 scored by Zaha so far this season, surpassing his previous career-best tally of 11 set last year under Roy Hodgson. It’s also the third time in the last four years he’s hit double figures for the campaign, though Vieira has still said he thinks Zaha should be aiming to score 20 for Palace in a season.
Speaking about his goal of the season strike against Norwich, Zaha added: “It’s easy, to be honest. I just shifted the ball and tried to strike it as hard as I could really. It was a carefully measured shot at the same time so I was happy that it went flying into the top corner.”
Asked if Vieira’s possession-based style of play was helping the team’s attacking output and in particular his own, the winger said: “The way we play has made a massive difference. We’re more attacking now. Every team we come up against we try to defend from the front and the way we defend allows us to have more opportunities. I’ve definitely enjoyed my football this season.”
Palace still have three matches whereby Zaha can increase his tally, with Vieira taking his side to Aston Villa on Sunday before a midweek trip to Everton is followed by a home match against Manchester United at Selhurst Park.
