Patrick Vieira insists credit goes to players as Palace subs earn comeback draw

Patrick Vieira insists the credit for Crystal Palace’s comeback against Leicester belonged to his players as two substitutes struck to earn the Eagles a Premier League point.

Leicester were two goals ahead at the interval, capitalising on defensive errors as birthday boy Kelechi Iheanacho and Jamie Vardy struck to silence Selhurst Park.

But the Foxes remain without a league win since August as Michael Olise scored his first Palace goal off the bench before fellow replacement Jeffrey Schlupp headed in to secure a 2-2 draw against his former club.

It was a positive reaction from Palace, who had conceded a last-gasp equaliser in the M23 derby against Brighton on Monday night.

Vieira, who stuck with the same starting XI as in the Seagulls draw, was praised for his substitutions but was keen to give his team the recognition for making the difference.

“I think it is all the credit to the players,” he said.

“They were concentrated, ready to come on and bring some of the energy we needed. For them to score the goals, it is what we needed, it is want we wanted.

“I was really pleased with the support they gave to the team – when you prepare a game you always have the first

options (for substitutes) regarding how the game is going; whether you are winning or losing.

“All credit to the players, we make the decision and sometimes it is right and sometimes wrong.

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“I’m really pleased because when they came on they came on with determination and that for me is the most important detail, when you are on the bench it is not easy.”

Vieira admitted he was unhappy with the opening 45 minutes as mistakes from Joachim Andersen allowed Leicester to open up a lead.

“I was really frustrated about the first half, about the mistakes and the chances that we created and didn’t manage to score.

“That was the frustration of the first half, I think going to half-time with 2-0 was really harsh on us but we had ourselves to blame because we made those mistakes and when you play in the Premier League against those types of teams you get punished straight away.”

Leicester looked to be on course for their first win since beating Norwich on August 28 but allowed their lead to slip.

Having started the season well before dropping off the pace in recent years, boss Brendan Rodgers is hopeful it can be a different story this time around.

“I think when you are 2-0 up you are obviously disappointed,” he said.

“The overall performance, we probably didn’t deserve much more, the players showed grit and determination, we scored two very good goals but we are still searching for that stability when we are defending and that is something that needs to improve.

“When it got to 2-2 the momentum can really go against you but the players kept fighting.

“They are giving everything but we just aren’t playing to our level. It might be different this season compared to the last two when we have started on fire and dropped off a little bit, hopefully this can be the season where we can build and finish the second part of the season really strong.”

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