Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v AFC Bournemouth - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - May 13, 2023 Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
LONDON (Reuters) -Eberechi Eze scored twice as Crystal Palace beat a disappointing Bournemouth 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.
Both teams came into the match with little to play for, with Palace already safe from relegation and 14th-placed Bournemouth just a point away from securing their survival.
That lack of jeopardy made for a drab opening 38 minutes in which neither side managed a shot on target, until a sublime piece of skill from Wilfried Zaha carved open the visiting defence.
The Ivorian left three Bournemouth defenders standing with a brilliant turn in the box and cut back a low cross from the byline that took a faint touch off Jordan Ayew before falling for Eze to smash home in the 39th minute.
"When Wilf is on the ball, you always know something is going to happen. I just had to put myself in the right position," Eze said.
Eze doubled Palace's lead 13 minutes into the second half, cutting in on his right foot and sending an unstoppable shot into the top corner for his 10th league goal of the campaign.
Six of Eze's goals have come since Roy Hodgson took over as Palace coach at the start of April.
"He has given me licence to run at people. Under him I do my best to positively affect the games," Eze added. "I just feel like I am more free."
Bournemouth failed to offer any attacking threat and went the entire match without a shot on target, with the only real blemish for Palace an apparent hamstring injury that forced Zaha off early in the second half.
The win moved 12th-placed Palace on to 43 points, level with Chelsea in 11th. Bournemouth, who are eight points clear of the relegation zone, will be safe if Manchester City beat Everton on Sunday or Leicester City fail to beat Liverpool on Monday.
(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)
