Patrick Vieria has said he found Kalvin Phillips' comments about Wilfried Zaha allegedly diving "strange" and questioned how anybody who watched Crystal Palace's 0-0 draw with Leeds on Monday night could come to the conclusion that the midfielder did.
Phillips spoke to the media immediately after coming off the pitch at Selhurst Park and was critical of what he perceived to be a spot of gamesmanship from Zaha, who was repeatedly targeted by Leeds' players and regularly won free-kicks after being fouled. Luke Ayling, in particular, was lucky to escape a booking after bringing the Ivory Coast international down twice in quick succession, while Phillips himself also hauled over the winger in the second period.
"He is a good player, but we defended against him well as a team," said Phillips at full-time. "The referee complained at us for fouling him, but I think he dives a lot, to be honest with you."
READ MORE: Every word Patrick Vieira said on Southampton, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Kalvin Phillips and more
Phillips' comments did not go down well with Palace supporters as expected, but it seems they also rubbed Vieira up the wrong way too. The Frenchman addressed the issue in his pre-match press conference on Friday as the Eagles prepare to take on Southampton at St Mary's Stadium on the weekend.
"It's quite a strange comment," said Vieira. "I think that game you can all see and watch the game again, and I think some of them [Leeds players] were lucky not to get a yellow card because I think the plan was clear. It was to target Wilfried. Wilfried remained calm and concentrated on his game. I think he had a really good game."
Asked if the rotational fouling from Leeds on Zaha affected the winger, Vieira added: "This is the way he plays the game. He's really good on the ball, he holds the ball, he fights for it, and he's a really good dribbler. When you have those qualities, you have to look at the other side, and players will try to stop you, and you have to accept it. I think Wilfried showed a lot of maturity during the game, and he was really close to scoring that goal. Overall, I think he had a really good performance."
Vieira was always known as a tough-tackling midfielder during his own playing days with Arsenal in the Premier League and said he was against trying to get more protection for his players from officials, saying it was part and parcel of the modern game.
"I'm against protecting players," he said. "The challenges are part of the game, and Wilfried or any other players have to deal with the quality that they have as well. Teams tried to stop them, and I think Leeds were quite smart because it was different players who were making fouls on him all the time. But he has to deal with it, and I think against Leeds he did really well.
"He managed that really well. But at the same time, I don't want to lose that fire that he has because that is who he is as a player and as a person, so we have to manage it. Of course, referees have to understand the game as well."
