THE PALACE fans had a good question for their Leicester counterparts: “How s**t must you be? We’re winning away.”
The Londoners had not scored - never mind won – on their Premier League travels in eight previous attempts, but first-half goals by Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha set them on their way.
And Leicester’s day went from bad to worse when they had a goal disallowed and saw Wilfried Ndidi sent off in the space of a minute in the second period.
Palace were much the better side in the first half and thoroughly deserved their lead.
Leicester’s defending of Andros Townsend’s cross was awful, allowing penalty-taking bad boy Benteke to amble between Danny Simpson and Wes Morgan and send a free header past Kasper Schmiechel, whose starting position was suspect.
The Palace fans, never short of a good chant, enjoyed a rendition of “Christian Benteke, he scores when he wants”. Moments later, though, their big striker almost did a Romelu Lukaku at the other end, heading a Marc Albrighton free kick not far wide of one of Julian Speroni’s posts.
Leicester had a couple of half chances and a shout for a penalty for handball but it was no surprise when Zaha doubled the visitors’ advantage. Riyad Mahrez gave the ball away and Benteke this time turned provider, charging forward after holding off challenges and then offloading at the perfect moment to the Ivory Coast international.
Zaha still had plenty to do, but he wrong-footed Ben Chilwell with a stepover and then finished emphatically. “He’s just too good for you,” sang the visiting supporters, justifiably. Benteke could have made it three early in the second half, before Mahrez forced Julian Speroni into his first save of the match.
Vicente Iborra headed into the net from a Mahrez free kick on the hour but only after pushing James Tomkins.
Almost immediately Ndidi went down under a challenge from James McArthur in the box, but referee Martin Atkinson ruled the Leicester man had dived and showed him a second yellow card, after booking him barely 10 minutes earlier for a foul on Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Leicester could not find a way back into the game from there. Palace continued to defend stoutly and threaten on the break, with Schmeichel denying Benteke a third goal for Palace.
Townsend fired over the bar and Benteke saw another effort deflected wide on a perfect afternooon for Palace and a dismal one for Leicester.
And in the final minute of stoppage-time, Loftus-Cheek fed substitute Bakary Sako, who scored in off the post.
From The Sun
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