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Patrick Vieira has revealed the main cause of Crystal Palace’s 2-0 loss at the hands of Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.
The Eagles sought to make their first FA Cup final since 2016, and just the third in the club’s history, by beating Thomas Tuchel’s team. However, they were knocked out in the final four after goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount.
Vieira’s men had the only real chance in the first half when Cheikhou Kouyate volleyed into goal on his left foot. That shot forced a clever save from Blues goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who managed to push the ball away.
And Kouyate was running again in the second half, towering over Mount from a corner. But the Senegalese national team player feels his header across as he really should have hit the target.
Chelsea showed their quality after that and scored two goals in 11 minutes. Joachim Andersen had a great opportunity to give Crystal Palace a lifeline late, only to see his headbutt go over the crossbar.
Palace ran out of steam and were beaten by Chelsea for the third time this campaign – our player ratings are available here.
And Vieira says the missed chances were the key to deciding Palace’s fate.
During an interview after the match with ON TV (via BBC Sports), the Frenchman said: “I do not know if it was a reasonable reflection [a 2-0 loss], in the first half we frustrated them a lot, we had chances and in the situation we could have played them better. Against these teams, it’s about taking your chances – we did not, and they did.
Patrick Vieira backs Palace improving after losses
“I believe that kind of matches with a lot of excitement will make us a better team. We had chances but did not score, but we also did not give the ball at the right time sometimes.
“We just have to keep going. It’s the kind of game the players, the manager and the club want to get involved in. We have to keep building the team and working well.
“The fans were incredible today, and once again thank you to them for their support.
“We were close, but there is still a big gap between Chelsea and ourselves.”
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