Liverpool midfielder, James Milner has come out to say that Crystal Palace winger, Wilfried Zaha is the most difficult opponent he has faced.
Since he joined the Reds from Manchester City in 2015, he has faced Zaha four times and has been sent off the pitch twice during clashes with the Palace forward.
According to Milner, Zaha is a tricky player and he is very tough to mark.
His words, “I’ve been sent off for tackles on him [Zaha] twice.”
“He’s a talent. Unpredictable.
“You see how difficult it is to deal with him when you’re watching him. And when you play against Zaha he’s tricky and very tough to face.”
Do you agree?
Dazet Wilfried Armel Zaha (born 10 November 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Crystal Palace and the Ivory Coast national team.
Zaha advanced into the Crystal Palace first team from their academy, in 2010. In January 2013, he transferred to Manchester United for an initial fee of £10 million, Alex Ferguson’s last transfer before his retirement at the end of the season. Zaha remained on loan at Palace until the end of the season, helping them return to the Premier League. After an unsuccessful 2013–14 season with Manchester United (partly spent on loan at Cardiff City), Zaha returned to Palace in August 2014 on a season-long loan, before rejoining the club on a permanent basis in February 2015.
Born in the Ivory Coast, Zaha grew up in England from the age of four. He made his debut for the England national team in 2012. He made two non-competitive appearances for England, the latter of which came in 2013, before switching his allegiances to the Ivory Coast ahead of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
Born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Zaha moved with his family – including his eight siblings – to Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon, at the age of four. He was educated at Whitehorse Manor Junior School, Thornton Heath and Selsdon High School, Selsdon.
On 25 January 2013, Zaha agreed to join Premier League club Manchester United, and would immediately be loaned back to Crystal Palace for the remainder of the season. Palace tried to delay the transfer and agree the transfer in the summer of 2013, but Football League rules prevented this with the player having to join United and be loaned back to Palace. Zaha passed the medical at Manchester United, signing a five-and-a-half-year contract on 26 January 2013 for a reported £10m rising to £15m with performance-related add-ons.
Zaha can play as a forward or as a winger. In 2018, Adrian Clarke of the Premier League’s website opined that he “offers more threat” as a frontman, going on to add that “his ultra-mobile combination with [Andros] Townsend generates more goals and points”, citing “the speed, athleticism and unpredictable movement of the Zaha-Townsend axis is more difficult for opponents to contain”.
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