Tuesday 7 April 2015 09:21, UK
Alan Pardew hailed the individual performance of striker Glenn Murray as he helped Crystal Palace sink Manchester City at Selhurst Park.
Goals from Murray and Jason Puncheon saw the hosts go 2-0 up before Yaya Toure reduced the deficit for City, but home goalkeeper Julian Speroni held out a few late chances as Palace claimed all three points to leave the champions' title hopes in tatters.
"In terms of a striker's performance, we knew the two centre halves were aggressive so we said to Glenn, 'look, you might need to buy us fouls, you need to win your headers, you're going to need to work hard and come back to the point for us'," Pardew told Sky Sports 1.
I thought he gave us an exceptional performance. Forget about his goal - he gave a lesson in how to play the number nine.
"I thought he gave us an exceptional performance. Forget about his goal - he gave a lesson in how to play the No 9."
Murray, 31, who has previously played for the likes of Carlisle, Rochdale and Brighton, has fought back from serious injuries, including a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament less than two years ago.
"He's had a terrible time with injuries," said the former Newcastle boss. "This is a guy who should have been in the Premier League years ago, so (I'm really) pleased for him that he's getting the reward for the quality that he has."
Pardew added: "It was a huge night because you've got the champions coming to you, knowing they're under pressure.
"The game didn't really unfold how we wanted to perceive it because our wide players were a little bit ineffective tonight in terms of getting them on the ball. But diligence, character, resilience and good shape was just enough to see us home and two quality moments for us.
"We really had to lean on our character tonight. It's a great result for the club, the fans were terrific... it's a great place to be."
