Zaha hopes Crystal Palace's draw can be a catalyst to improve their form

Wilfried Zaha believes Crystal Palace's 1-1 draw with high-flying Leicester City has given his side something to build on just days on from their heavy 7-0 and 3-0 defeats to Liverpool and Aston Villa respectively.

The Ivorian forward put the Eagles ahead with a fine volley in the second half before a late Harvey Barnes equaliser denied Roy Hogdson's men the three points.

Though it may not have been a victory, the draw did halt Palace's alarming recent form and Zaha is hopeful the performance can prove to be a catalyst going into the new year.

He told Amazon: 'We'll take a point today, the last few games have been hard on us. I'm not thinking about scoring too much I'm just making sure I play well and see the chances keep coming.

'It's just passion I play with. People may see it as anger but I have passion, I love what I do.

'The way we worked today I'm definitely happy and we'll take that going into the new year.'

Former Palace striker and Amazon pundit Clinton Morrison warned the south London club that they simply cannot afford to lose the talismanic Zaha.

Morrison said: 'He's a passionate boy, he wants to be the best. This is his club and every time he goes onto that pitch he produces. He's the star player and Palace need to keep hold of him.

'Zaha attracts players towards him, he's that much of a good footballer. It's probably his best goal. He's improving. That's eight goals, everyone was questioning him. He causes loads of problems.'

The draw leaves Palace 13th in the table and will now turn their attentions to bottom club Sheffield United in their next fixture on Saturday.

The Foxes meanwhile are now second, three points behind leaders Liverpool and they travel to Newcastle on Sunday in their next league game.