Pellegrini: Both teams had 45 minutes so it’s a fair result

 

Manuel Pellegrini felt Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace was a fair reflection of the play after both teams enjoyed 45 minutes of dominance.

The Hammers had the better of an opening period which saw them take a 27th minute lead through Mark Noble, but they failed to build on that after the interval as Palace came back strongly.

James McArthur and Michy Batshuayi both missed one-on-one chances before Wilfried Zaha – with the help of a deflection off Issa Diop – brought the scores level.

Zaha’s goal may have come with a huge slice of luck, but Pellegrini conceded that the home side were deserving of that fortune.

“Each team had 45 minutes, so a draw is the logical result,” the manager said.

“I think we played the first 45 minutes better than Crystal Palace. We scored one goal and we had another two or three very clear chances.

“In the second half we made the mistake of dropping inside our own half and we allowed them to have the ball too much.

“They have very dangerous players – they created chances and were a little bit lucky with the goal, but they had other chances and we didn’t create another one in their box.

“I’m very happy with the first 45 minutes but not so happy with the second. It’s a good point.”

The one complaint Pellegrini did have was that his team dropped too deep in their play after the break, when he wanted to see more of the attacking threat they showed on the break in the first half.

He added: "The first 45 minutes were very similar to the game against Liverpool. Palace have very dangerous players going forward but they didn’t make too much damage on our defending and we created a lot of chances.

“And in the second half, we didn’t want to do it, but we ended trying to keep the 1-0. It’s an unlucky ball for the goal, but the draw is fair."