‘The best 45 minutes I’ve seen’; Vieira cites three reasons for ‘perfect’ Palace display

Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira felt Saturday’s victory over Wolves was the best display he has witnessed by his players since arriving at the club.

The Eagles picked up their second win in three top-flight gams with a 2-0 triumph at Molineux. Jean-Philippe Mateta opened the scoring on 19 minutes before Wilfried Zaha bagged the second from the penalty spot in the 34th minute. Palace’s third away victory of the campaign sees them sit 10th in the Premier League table.

They are one of four clubs with 33 points and appear to be heading in the right direction. The south London outfit have been solid ever since the World Cup winner arrived in the Selhurst Park dugout.

They have drawn 12 games this term while beating the likes of Tottenham and Manchester City. But Vieira firmly believes that taking all three points from Bruno Lage’s side tops anything he has seen before.

“It was the perfect performance away from home,” he told BBC Sport. “We were really solid, created a lot of chances. I’m really pleased with the attitude, character and organisation we showed today.

“That is the best 45 minutes we have played since I have been at the football club and it is important for us to build on the last couple of games.

“Today it was not just about the result it was about the performance, and the performance was really good.”

Having taken seven points from their past three matches, the Eagles can now target a top-10 finish. The one stumbling block has been an inability to kill off the so-called lesser teams.

Draws against Norwich City, Brentford and Burnley have hampered their progress. And Vieira has urged his men to find the resoluteness needed to continue their upward curve.

“We know we are capable of playing good football but we