Moyes praises Mario as Irons grab precious point
Irons 1 Palace 1
Totally composed and clearly highly skilled, he was also drawing fouls in dangerous positions as the Irons battled to a 1-1 draw om a night when they had 14 players injured and suspended.
Mario was delighted with his performance and grateful to the team for the help they gave him as he often looked a class apart.
And afterwards he said: “The team helped me a lot. The Premier League is really difficult. It’s my first game and I feel great. I need to work hard to help my team.”
He was helped in particular by his midfield team mates Cheik Kouyate who possibly had his best game of the season and skipper Mark Noble who grabbed the equaliser from the penalty spot following Christian Benteke’s headed opener.
Noble was right on his game all evening showing a real measure of skill and the usual wholehearted endeavour.
David Moyes commented: “I was pleased with a point because of the amount of key players we had missing.
“Crystal Palace have probably been the form team outside the top six. Every club has injuries, it’s a chance for other players to show what they can do.
“Joao Mario settled in really quickly, which is always a worry when you bring a player in from abroad. He looks as if he is quite good at all the things.
“He handled the ball well and we needed him, he was important to us.”