Wilfrid Zaha scored in three minutes to give Crystal Palace a lead; James Ward-Pouls and Armando Broa scored back-to-back quickly to give Southampton the lead at half-time; Jordan Ayew's drought-breaking goal saved the hosts a point
Jordan Ayew scored his first Premier League goal in 43 games to help Crystal Palace draw 2-2 with Southampton.
The striker's last goal for club or national team was a 4-1 victory over United in November 2020, and it will be a sweet feeling when he cut into the home field from a narrow angle in the 65th minute.
"I think it's very important for [Ayew's confidence] because for strikers, the more goals you score, the more confidence you have in yourself," Crystal Palace coach Patrick Vieira said after the game.
"But Jordan's message has been clear – we want him to continue to play the way he's played recently, because his work ethic for the team is what we need and that's what we want. I'm really glad he scored the goal... Hopefully he can bring more. ”
Crystal Palace took a 1-0 lead after Wilfrid Zaha drove them out in three minutes and immediately took a convincing lead in Sunday's 3-1 win over Everton.
But two quick goals from Southampton gave them the lead at the end of halftime. Before Armando Broja (36) scored his fourth Premier League goal of the season, James Ward-Prous scored an iconic free kick (33).
Overall, sharing the loot was a fair reflection, with Crystal Palace jumping to 11th place in Brighton and Brentford with 20 points. Southampton are still in 15th place, but despite not winning three of their last six games, they are now six points above the drop zone.
Jordan Ayew scored his second goal at Crystal Palace from a tight angle
Crystal Palace took the lead in three minutes. Will Hughes's brilliant play – a second consecutive starter – beat Oriol Romeu in midfield. He then played at Odsonne Edouard, who took Zaha into the box. He easily checked Lyanco before firing home at an angle.
The hosts continued to dominate, with Jack Butland taking his first test in the 18th minute. Broia nodded a free-kick at the goalkeeper, but it went straight to the goalkeeper. Will Smallbourne and Romeo had a long range, but they flew far.
The palace should soon become two. Zaha broke through on the left to deliver a low cross for Edward. He was in front of his defender and turned his foot towards the defender, but when he poked the ball off the back post, he received the ball poorly.
As Southampton took a quick lead, the hosts were penalized for mistakes. Hughes delivered a free kick outside the 'D' gate, which Ward Prouss noticed. That was within his ideal range as he drew a nice shot from Batlan's fingertip into the top corner.
Three minutes later, the Saints had a shocking lead. It was an unusual mistake for Connor Gallagher in midfield as he was caught by Kyle Walker-Peters. He then let Broja through, he drove to the top of the area and then hit Batlan's low, heavy shot, celebrating before the end of the shocked Holmesdale.
The second half started very toughly, but Vieira introduced Christian Benteke in the 64th minute and was immediately rewarded. He worked well with Edward inside the penalty area, whose bruised shot was blocked by Willy Caballero's foot. It landed on Ayur on the right, whose first goal in 43 games rushed home at a small angle.
Wilfried Zaha celebrates his early goal at Crystal Palace
The race continues to see both sides trading towards the end. Saints substitute Shane Long nodded a Ward-Prouss free-kick goalkeeper, but it was easy for Buttland. As the game progressed five minutes, Caballero's low shot pushed Joel Ward's cross from the right.
Romeu tried to win the Latters late season by curling from a distance, but didn't have enough drops to find the net after sharing points at Selhurst Park.
The Chelsea loanee's performance was impressive. His shots were brilliant, leading Southampton to the goal, and both of his shots hit the target with a single shot. He is also the Saints' player with the most touches in the opposing penalty area (4) and is tied for the top spot in Southampton (3 - with Nathan Terra).
Wednesday's goal was his fourth in the Premier League this season, with he surpassed Romelu Lukaku (3), Kay Havertz (2) and Timo Werner (1) in league goals this season.
Crystal Palace coach Patrick Vieira: "At the end of the first half, we were punished for stopping the game after scoring the first goal. I think we were exposed too much, we were playing individually rather than collectively and they started building confidence.
"Then they scored those two goals and in the first half I think we played 10 or 15 minutes.
"When I look back at the whole game, I'm happy to point out that because they played some really good football, they put a lot of pressure on us and we didn't get through that pressure.
'In terms of the way we played tonight, I don't think we deserve more.
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttle: "After a not very good start, it wasn't easy for us. Then we had a little bit of luck because we could have been two games behind and it would have been harder to come back again. ”
"But the response we showed afterwards was outstanding. Prosi had a good moment to show off his strength. Then we believed we could get something here and we started playing the football we wanted.
"After that they didn't have a chance, the first half belonged only to us. We have a lot of opportunities to score more frequently.
"In the second half, I saw both teams fighting for everything. After 20 minutes, we had a little time to run out of energy. Shortly before I wanted to make the first change, we admitted a stupid goal.
"Maybe it was the most disappointing part of today's game because it was their only chance in the second half.
"When we make changes, we put them back where they are... We had some wonderful moments... In the end, we'll get to the point and move on. ”