Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke paid tribute to manager Roy Hodgson after scoring in victory over Aston Villa.

Benteke struck in Sunday's 3-2 win at Selhhurst Park.

He said: "I think it's credit to the manager for giving me the chance. It's important to me because I always believe in myself, my abilities.

"I think I'm really happy to play every week but I'm giving the confidence back to the manager and it's good for me and the team.

"I think it was a great game for us. We didn't have a good start, the first 15 minutes were a little bit slow on the ball. But then after their goal we reacted, came back in the game and then conceded again. I think [it was] an easy goal. Then second-half we showed our quality on the ball and I think it's a fair result this afternoon.

"[The half-time message] was simple, because we had nothing to lose any more. So we had to play with a little bit of courage on the ball, a little bit brave and I think the second-half was much, much better."