PREMIER - Crystal Palace hitman Benteke: "We need to be more ruthless"

Commenting upon Crystal Palace latest 2-2 tie against Arsenal, Eagles striker Christian Benteke stated:

“I think it’s been another frustrating result for us. Obviously we didn’t start the way we wanted. Arsenal put us under pressure. They scored quite quickly during the first-half, and then I think in the second-half we were more aggressive – we had a great reaction.

Then, this kind of game when you are leading, you can’t draw. You have to go back home with the three points. I can’t just say it’s concentration. There’s a lot of things going on. There is emotion. We are leading, we are away from home. It’s a tough game and we are tired. There is a lot of things going on.

But I think it’s no excuse, because it’s not the first time we are dropping points. I think we will learn from our mistakes, but we are learning the hard way. I think in the first 10-15 minutes we were a little bit slow. But in the last 25 [minutes] of the first-half, we were controlling the game, and then in the second-half we were on the front foot. So it’s a frustrating result for us tonight.

I think we had a great reaction in the second-half. We were more aggressive – Jordan [Ayew], Edi [Odsonne Edouard] and myself. We were a little bit ruthless and we got those goals, but at the end it wasn’t enough to win football matches. I think we are playing the way the manager wants us to play: with intensity, playing football. Now it’s not enough. To win a Premier League game we have to be more ruthless, and play with more experience – and stop conceding those late goals”.