Benteke: I knew a chance was coming

Christian Benteke insists he always knew a chance would come his way after scoring a stoppage-time winner at Sunderland.

The Belgium forward could not find the target in a busy first half at the Stadium of Light and then saw the hosts take a two-goal lead through Jermain Defoe.

However, Palace hit back through Joe Ledley and James McArthur, and “patient” Benteke took his chance with just seconds remaining to clinch a 3-2 win.

“That is a massive win,” he said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy here, but we showed, in the second half especially, great character. 

“As a striker you have to be patient – I knew a chance would come.

“We wanted to win this game, we are in good shape and hopefully we can keep it going.”

After the blow of falling two behind, with the first goal due to a Joe Ledley error, Alan Pardew was delighted with the way his side responded.

“We played some terrific stuff, and though Joe Ledley made an error his finish to score was typical of the man – he has spirit and character,” he said.

“Benteke is always a threat of course, and he had a couple of chances. With his goal it was a great delivery and a clinical finish. 

“We are confident at the moment and we produced. Our fans were terrific and this has been a great day for us, because we think we’ve got a great side and we showed it.”