Christian Benteke: 'Crystal Palace deserved win over Chelsea'

Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke has claimed that his side deserved their 2-1 win over runaway Premier League leaders Chelsea on Saturday.

The Eagles looked to be on course for a routine defeat against Antonio Conte's title favourites when they fell behind after less than five minutes at Stamford Bridge, but Wilfried Zaha and Benteke responded with a quickfire double to turn the game on its head.

Chelsea laid siege to the Palace goal for long spells over the remainder of the match, but Benteke believes that his side can be proud of themselves for holding out against the onslaught.

"You can see that the confidence of the team is high at the moment. We try just to put that on the pitch," he told the club's official website.

"We work hard for each other. It's four wins in a row, so we can be happy, but we have to keep going, because there's still a long way to go.

"We can be proud of ourselves. The work that we did was unbelievable and we had sometimes some luck, but I think we deserved to win this game."

Benteke also acknowledged that his brace for Belgium during the international break gave him the confidence to register his first Premier League goal since January.

"I think I can't deny it; as a striker as soon as you score you feel more free. You have more confidence in yourself, of what you're doing. I'm happy to help my teammates get three points," he added.

The win leaves Palace four points clear of the relegation zone following a run of four consecutive victories.