Chelsea legend John Terry has heaped praise on Kurt Zouma after his last-ditch tackle secured all three points for the Blues in a 3-2 win against Crystal Palace.
The west London side took a two-goal lead against Palace on Tuesday with goals from Olivier Giroud and Christian Pulisic, though Zaha’s thunderous goal pulled one back for the hosts.
Tammy Abraham then restored the two-goal lead, but it was soon wiped out seconds later by Benteke and Palace pushed very hard to find a late equaliser.
Crystal Palace hit the post in the stoppage-time and Benteke was then through on goal in the final seconds of the game, only for Zouma to make an outstanding tackle at the last second out of nowhere.
Frank Lampard was full of praise for Zouma after the match while another former Chelsea player Terry – who played with Zouma at the club – also recognised the importance of the tackle.
Responding to post from Chelsea which described Zouma’s challenge as ‘absolute perfection’, Terry wrote: ‘What a tackle’.
Lampard was also happy not just with his tackle but his performance as a whole and the Frenchman is starting to nail down his place at Chelsea.
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Speaking after the game, Lampard said: ‘It was fantastic from Kurt and I think at Watford he played a really good game as well.
‘Imposing, great defending, good on the ball – and that’s everything I want.
‘Defenders might not always get credit for those moments, the goalscorers get those, but his is definitely a points-saving tackle at the end, saves us two points. I’m really pleased with him.’
