Burnley beats Crystal Palace 1-0 for first win in EPL

Posted November 23, 2020 6:00 am

The Associated Press

Burnley's Chris Wood, left, scores his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Burnley and Crystal Palace at the Turf Moor stadium in Burnley, England, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. (Jan Kruger/Pool via AP) The Associated Press

BURNLEY, England (AP) - Burnley finally claimed its first victory in the English Premier League on Monday, 1-0 against a Crystal Palace missing star forward Wilfried Zaha after he tested positive for the coronavirus.

Chris Wood scored in the eighth minute, latching onto a neat flick by strike partner Jay Rodriguez and sidefooting powerfully past goalkeeper Vicente Guaita from a central position.

The chance opened up because of a poor attempted clearance by Palace defender Cheikhou Kouyate, who misdirected a header straight to Rodriguez.

The win in Burnley's eighth game allowed the team to climb out of the bottom three and into fourth-to-last place on five points.

Burnley winger Johann Berg Gudmundsson struck the crossbar at the end of a counterattack midway through the second half, while Palace struggled to create any clear-cut openings without Zaha, who appeared in each of the team's last 59 Premier League games stretching back to February 2019.

'œHe has tested positive unfortunately for coronavirus so is self-isolating, and is awaiting the results of the next test,'ť Palace manager Roy Hodgson said before the game.

'œHe is not feeling particularly ill, but unfortunately the test proved (positive), and he is following the procedures.'ť

The best chance for Palace fell in stoppage time to substitute Christian Benteke, whose close-range effort was blocked by the outstretched left hand of goalkeeper Nick Pope.

Wood's goal was Burnley's first at home in the league, and only its fourth in total. ___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Burnley's Chris Wood, centre, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Burnley and Crystal Palace at the Turf Moor stadium in Burnley, England, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. (Michael Regan/Pool via AP) The Associated Press

Crystal Palace's goalkeeper Vicente Guaita, left, makes a save in front of Burnley's Chris Wood, centre, during the English Premier League soccer match between Burnley and Crystal Palace at the Turf Moor stadium in Burnley, England, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. (Martin Rickett/Pool via AP) The Associated Press

Burnley's Chris Wood celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Burnley and Crystal Palace at the Turf Moor stadium in Burnley, England, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. (Jan Kruger/Pool via AP) The Associated Press

Article Comments

Article Categories
Content Providers MLS Pro Sports Soccer Sports Sports Leagues Sports Types

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.