December 16 2017

Christian Benteke

Crystal Palace climbed out of the relegation zone with a 3-0 win at Leicester City.

Palace scored their first league goals away and also claimed their first victory on the road with a deserved three points against the in-form Foxes.

Christian Benteke finally got on the score-sheet this season to end his barren run of 13 games without netting a goal for the Eagles.

The Belgian striker broke his duck with a trademark header from Andros Townsend's cross on the right to put Palace ahead on 19 minutes.

Two minutes later, Benteke almost scored again – this time into his own net – while heading a Leicester corner just past the Palace post.

Six minutes before the break, Palace added a second goal with Benteke instrumental, charging through the Foxes defence to tee up Wilfried Zaha who did a neat step-over and he unleashed into the net.

After the interval, Julian Speroni produced an excellent stop by diving low to his right to keep out Riyad Mahrez.

Leicester had a 'goal' disallowed on the hour mark after referee Martin Atkinson spotted Vicente Iborra's push on James Tomkins before he headed in the net.

The hosts went down to 10 men after Wilfred Ndidi was shown a second yellow card for a dive in the area to give their hopes of a comeback a major blow.

Then Foxes keeper Kasper Schmeichel denied Benteke another goal with a fine block with his body at the far post.

And Palace made it 3-0 in the fourth minute of stoppage time as Ruben Loftus-Cheek burst down the left on the counter-attack and set up sub Bakary Sako who curled in off the post.

It was the first time Palace have gone seven games unbeaten in the Premier League – and also a third successive clean sheet away with Speroni claiming his 100th Eagles league shut-out – as they move up to 14th.

Leicester: Schmeichel, Simpson, Maguire, Morgan, Chilwell, Ndidi, Iborra (Okazaki 76), Gray, Mahrez, Albrighton (King 76), Vardy (Ulloa 84).

Not used: Hamer, Fuchs, Dragovic, Iheanacho.

Palace: Speroni, Kelly, Dann, Tomkins, Schlupp, Townsend, McArthur, Cabaye (Riedewald 84), Loftus-Cheek, Zaha, Benteke (Sako 87).

Not used: Hennessey, Van Aanholt, Souare, Wan-Bissaka, Lee.

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