Wilfried Zaha is in the best goalscoring form of his life. Why?

For so long, Crystal Palace fans and opposition supporters wondered just how good Wilfried Zaha could be if he improved his finishing. He was constantly critiqued for his lack of end product, for taking one touch too many and not being good enough in the final third.

That has now changed. Zaha is in the form of his life with three goals in the first three games of the season — two of them finished adeptly, including one against Liverpool at Anfield.

With 11 goals from his last 16 Premier League appearances, Zaha is enjoying his best scoring run. Since the start of the 2020-21 season, only four players have scored more goals than his 28. In 2022 so far, only Son Heung-min (14 goals from 18 games) and Harry Kane (12 goals from 18 games) can better his total of 11.

If he scores against Manchester City on Saturday, he will have found the net in three consecutive games, equalling his best run in successive matches.

Patrick Vieira has repeatedly asked his players to be competitive, to make the most of their ability and to challenge themselves to be better. There is always more to do, nothing is ever simply acceptable. His demands are clear.

That applies to the most experienced players as much as the younger talent. It is also aimed at Zaha. A record-breaking season last time out with 14 Premier League goals was still not sufficient. The reality, Vieira said, was that he ought to have scored 20. If he could improve on his finishing, then hitting that target was achievable.

But what can his improvement be put down to?

Zaha now has freedom to roam with pace in a team built to attack with a supporting cast of technically gifted players. This has allowed him to get in behind defences more easily, with Palace’s higher line meaning they are ready to transition to attack quicker and with greater efficiency. Coupled with the passing range of Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen and now Cheick Doucoure, there are more opportunities than ever. That appears to have given him greater confidence.

The palace winger seems to be taking his shots earlier, from tighter angles and more challenging positions. That would point to his renewed self-confidence. If there is an opportunity to shoot, with the defender or goalkeeper vulnerable, he will take it. The old Zaha was less inclined to do so.

Zaha reflected on his approach to the game and becoming more “efficient” in this interview with The Athletic in 2020. “You have to think quickly in your head how you’ll solve the situation,” he said. “If I see someone is vulnerable then I’ll just do it.”

The Ivory Coast international certainly exploited Liverpool’s vulnerability at Anfield, where he played slightly down the left for Crystal Palace and was a constant threat.

With Alisson slightly off his line and Virgil van Dijk expecting Zaha to come inside, he takes the opportunity to shoot. He opens up his body and shoots into the far bottom corner to put Palace ahead after 31 minutes — seemingly having taken Alisson and Van Dijk by surprise.

In the 3-1 win over Aston Villa that followed, Zaha is again forced to carry the ball left, this time by defensive pressure from Ezri Konsa. Emiliano Martinez positions himself outside the six-yard box and Konsa pays him close attention…

Zaha takes an early shot, with Konsa not tight enough to get a block in. Martinez is surprised by the strike from a relatively narrow angle. The ball again nestles in the far bottom corner.

“I was running and just thinking not to let the goalkeeper set himself,” Zaha said after the game. “So as I was running I just hit across him.”

Those finishes come with confidence. Before his two goals against Villa, Zaha had scored nine in his last 15 games, with his last four goals worth seven points.

Vieira had sought to convince the 29-year-old that playing through the middle would suit him better. The response was lukewarm. The pair have an excellent relationship but Zaha is strong-willed. “I don’t (see myself playing there),” he said. “He has got his ideas and I have got mine, so we will see how it goes.”

But the way Palace play now does not necessitate playing him as a centre-forward or a striker. He plays in a roaming role on the left that allows him to come inside when he wants to. But it also means Palace have the opportunity to play down the channels on the counter, which Zaha uses to his advantage.

In this effort against Norwich earlier this year, Zaha takes down Michael Olise’s ball just outside the area, running at the defender, who squares him up to show him inside…

Zaha takes the opportunity to do exactly that, cutting back to create some space before immediately shooting into the far corner.

“To create a yard and get a shot off was the only thing going through my mind,” he said. “I was just assessing what I can do because there were two players in front of me and I managed to get a yard.

“As soon as I hit it I thought, ‘I’ve hit this well’. I was labelled someone who had no end product. It’s been years of practising. Now it seems like, ‘It’s overnight, he does it all the time’.” That strike at Carrow Road won February’s Premier League goal of the month.

In Palace’s 4-1 win over Watford on February 23, when the run of goals began, he did something similar. The ball came to him down the left, he ran into space, checked back and took a shot on early, smashing it into the far corner.

It is a common theme. Zaha seems to have found something that works and stuck with it.

“The fact he is playing well in that position and scoring goals will help me convince him even more,” Vieira said of Zaha playing more centrally.

“We play in a way that allows him to create more chances, that allows him to be more in front of goal and then it is about him taking those chances. He missed a couple of those chances (last) year but I believe (this) season his target has to be around 20 goals.

“He had really good opportunities during the season to score about 20-24 goals. That means there is a side that he has to improve. Every game there’s a guy I can trust. When he is on the field he plays, he fights and he is a winner.”

Don't let Wilf get in those areas 💫#CPFC pic.twitter.com/eMnRBfkPCR

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) February 24, 2022

Vieira’s demands are high. He believes in Zaha and brings out the best in him. Their relationship was apparent after Zaha ran over to his manager having scored that goal at Norwich and the pair embraced. He is a complex character, but Vieira understands the need to not be too intense with him.

Wilf on THAT goal against Norwich 😎#CPFC pic.twitter.com/W1yt0HBqp5

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) March 11, 2022

Zaha took 69 shots last season, more than any other season since at least 2016-17 and four fewer than in 2018-19. Out of those, 32 were on target. His expected goals (xG) was 10.98, or 5.46 excluding penalties. That was exceeded by his final league total 14 goals, or nine if you exclude penalties.

That he is surpassing his xG, even when you don’t take penalties into account, demonstrates that it is not simply because he has become the club’s regular spot kick taker that his goalscoring return has been enhanced.

“The team has to play better and I think there’s a potential to play better and create more chances to allow him to score more goals. It’s about bringing in some players around (him) that improve Wilfried’s ability to score goals,” Vieira said. “When you create chances, he will have some chances to score.”

Just as his impressive form may attract attention before the transfer window closes next Friday, it will only strengthen Palace’s resolve to keep hold of him. The situation is complicated by his contract status, with his deal expiring next summer, but Palace have no intention of allowing him to leave on a free transfer.

That would mean persuading Zaha to renew his contract or selling him in the January window. At the moment, neither seems particularly likely. Palace’s star player is worth more to them than he is to anyone looking to buy him. That has always been the case, but until now it has not mattered so much.

For Zaha, playing at the highest level has always been the aim. He has found himself priced out of that dream by signing new contracts with Palace which protect his value. Now, in the best form of his career, playing with freedom, he may have found a way to escape that trap.

Even if that does happen, Palace should appreciate what they have for as long as he remains their player. This could be the season he finally reaches 20 goals.