CRYSTAL PALACE and Wolves both had a point to prove in Saturday’s second half, the first having qualified as a serious contender for the worst 45 minutes of Premier League football this season so far. 

And it was the home side that rose to the challenge, as Palace put in a second-half performance that saw them run out deserved 2-0 winners in a feisty affair at Selhurst Park that was assisted by two VAR decisions.

“I want our players to play with no fear, but today was not a good performance — but I cannot judge my players looking at what they have done over the last five games,”  Wolves boss Bruno Lage admitted afterwards.

The game had started in promising fashion, Palace manager Patrick Vieira’s men looking menacing in the attacking third.

A 6th-minute Connor Gallagher corner was met in the air by Christian Benteke, but the Belgian striker’s header was directed straight at Jose Sa in the Wolves goal.

Wolves’ first effort on target came courtesy of Raul Jimenez who got on the end of a Joao Moutinho free kick, his header suffering the same fate as Benteke’s: straight at keeper Vicente Guaita.

There was little worth mentioning for the rest of the first period, but the game sparked into life in the second half, the home team raising their passing tempo and pressing Wolves higher up the pitch.

It was Palace talisman Wilfried Zaha who opened the scoring, following an expertly crafted through-ball from James McArthur. The Eagles’ captain for the day was afforded too much time and space in the middle of the park, allowing him to wait for Zaha’s run and execute a defence-splitting pass directly into the run of the Palace wide-man whose first-time shot went low and hard into Sa’s goal’s far corner.

The linesman’s flag went straight up, suggesting that Zaha had strayed offside, but after a lengthy VAR check the goal was rightly given and Selhurst Park erupted to welcome the decision.

The second big VAR decision of the day came at the other end, where Palace defender Joel Ward’s ridiculous challenge from behind on Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri prompted referee Graham Scott to point to the spot. But again, VAR came to the home side’s rescue, adjudging that the initial contact was made outside of the box. 

The Wolves boss was not happy with the overturned decision. Lage said: “The big fault was inside of the box, so they should have stuck with the referee’s first decision.”

On the balance of chances created, it was a well-deserved victory for the home side, who are now starting to get the results to match their performances.

“It was important to get the three points, especially after last week’s win against [Manchester] City,” reflected Vieira, whose team are now unbeaten in six Premier League games. “Our performance was really excellent — to perform like this against an awkward team to play against.”