Resilience against United is what we need for the rest of the season, says Palace boss

Patrick Vieira gave a pat on the back for his players after they salvaged a point at the very last against Manchester United in Wednesday night's Selhurst Park clash.

The Eagles have been on a poor run of results since the post-World Cup resumption and a run of four defeats in five games going into the clash left fans fretting about the direction of travel.

But Palace refused to buckle after falling behind to a 43rd minute strike from United skipper Bruno Fernandes and snatched an unlikely point in injury time with a sumptuous free-kick from Michael Olise.

Vieira denied he felt relief - such is his confidence in the quality he has at his disposal - and says the main lesson to be learnt was the need to stay in games and show defiance at all times.

"It was important not to lose the game," he said. "Against a team who are playing well, it was important for us to stay in the game as long as we could.

“We managed to take a point – it was a fully-deserved point.

“It was not a relief. The performances have been quite good – we have been unlucky not to get more points.

“The results say something different. But we have been positive with the players about the way we want to play the game.

“When you don’t win games, there are parts you want to improve. When you go through a difficult period, you have to keep working well and hard."

He added: “It was important not to lose today, but on the other side, we showed some resilience and that will be important for the rest of the season.”