Crystal Palace v Watford ratings: Zaha 8, Ward 7; Sarr 4, Kamara 3

Watford relegated from Premier League following 1-0 defeat on Saturday

PALACE RATINGS: Jack Butland – 6. A return in between the goalposts for Butland, and while he had very little to do, he nearly gifted a goal to Watford when he failed to notice King before rolling out a ball to his defenders. PA

Nathaniel Clyne – 7. Enjoying a spell at right back for the 11th successive game, Clyne dominated the wing and linked well with Palace’s wingers. He also made a crucial intervention to deny King in the first half. AFP

Joachim Andersen – 7 Continuing to impress with his range of passes, the Denmark international was comfortable and rarely troubled. Reuters

Marc Guehi – 7. The young England international could have nodded his side into the lead within five minutes when he came close with a header. He came close again before half-time but was denied by Foster. Getty

Joel Ward – 7. Was well positioned to clear a rare Watford attack in the first half, and coped well in a makeshift centre-back position when Guehi was forced off. AFP

Conor Gallagher – 6. Gallagher could only manage to find the stands with an ambitious, overhit attempt from distance, though the Chelsea loanee was again a bright spark in Palace’s attacks. Getty

Will Hughes – 7. The former Watford man made his first league start since the reverse clash in February, and he clearly wanted to make an impression against his former side; he racked up the most tackles. Booked. Getty

Michael Olise – 6. The 20-year-old was unable to keep an effort from outside of the box low. He was again involved as Palace came close to producing a team goal of the season after great build-up by Zaha and Gallagher, but he fired well over. Getty

Eberechi Eze – 8. Having scored his first goal this season last weekend, the former Queens Park Rangers midfielder ran Watford ragged. He looked up for it from the start, sparking attacks and putting in tackles. Getty

Wilfried Zaha – 8. Palace’s top goalscorer added a deserved 14th goal of the season with a composed yet powerful spot-kick, having dominated play and giving Watford a troublesome first 45 minutes. Getty

Odsonne Edouard – 7. The Frenchman made easy work of weaving through Watford’s defence in what would have been a terrific individual goal, albeit to be denied by Foster. PA

SUBS: Jeffrey Schlupp (Gallagher 63’) – 6. Schlupp came close to killing off the game but for another good save by Foster in the closing stages. AP

Tyrick Mitchell (Guehi 73’) – N/A. Having been dropped in recent games, Mitchell was brought back into the fold as Guehi required treatment for the second time. Getty

Jean-Philippe Mateta (Zaha 83’) – N/A. Mateta wasted little time trying to extend Palace’s lead when he forced Foster into an excellent save from Olise’s cross before heading the rebound wide. Getty

WATFORD RATINGS: Ben Foster – 7. The veteran goalkeeper was sent the wrong way by Zaha from the penalty spot but produced an excellent save to deny Guehi. He singlehandedly kept Watford in the game on numerous occasions. AFP

Kiko Femenia – 4. Making his 150th appearance in a Watford shirt, Femenia was overwhelmed by the early pressure Palace posed on the left wing and struggled throughout. AFP

Craig Cathcart – 5. Provided an early clearance to deny Edouard but was ran ragged when the Frenchman completely skipped through the backline for an individual attempt on goal. AFP

Samir – 4. Had a decent opportunity to put his side on level terms when he was handed a free header from Femenia’s set-piece. At the other end, he looked uncomfortable in defence. Getty

Hassane Kamara – 3. Was deemed by VAR to have handled the ball in the box with his arms aloft. His day went from bad to worse when he received a second yellow for pushing Olise, who was free. PA

Moussa Sissoko – 4 The 32-year-old was overrun by Palace’s frontline. Couldn’t get close to the action. Getty

Edo Kayembe – 4 The Congo international lost possession early on in midfield but was fortunate to see Olise fire over. Poor. Getty

Tom Cleverley – 4. The long-serving Watford player was forced off in the second half. He took a hit in the first half before going down against just after the break. AFP

Ismaila Sarr – 4. After a poor performance throughout, Sarr should have done better when the ball completely eluded him in the box after good work by King in stoppage time. Getty

Joshua King – 5. After a poor first half by Watford’s frontmen, King seemed to start the second a little more determined. He almost caught out Butland, but saw his shot collected. Getty

Emmanuel Dennis – 4. Watford’s top goalscorer was unable to do anything with the 73 minutes he had on the pitch and he was sacrificed as a result of Kamara’s sending off. Getty

SUBS: Ken Sema (Cleverley 52’) – 5. Brought a sense of urgency from the bench, including a rare moment where a Watford player was able to run through Palace to attempt a shot. Reuters

Adam Masina (Dennis 74’) – N/A. Brought on in response to Kamara’s sending off, he showed little intent to force a comeback. AFP

William Troost-Ekong (Samir 78’) – N/A. Saw very little of the ball during his time on the pitch. PA

Watford were relegated from the Premier League after just one season back after Wilfried Zaha's penalty earned Crystal Palace a 1-0 win on Saturday.

A sixth straight defeat left the Hornets still 12 points adrift of safety with just three matches to play.

Roy Hodgson was welcomed back to Selhurst Park a hero for his four years in charge of Palace, but the former England manager's record of never suffering relegation ended with his final job before retiring at the end of the season.

Patrick Vieira's side climbed up to ninth place on 44 points while Watford remained second-bottom with 22 points and will join Norwich in the Championship, dropping down to the second division for the second time in three seasons.

Palace controlled the contest from the start. Odsonne Edouard nearly scored a superb solo goal just after the hour mark, dancing past the Watford defence before hitting the post from a tight angle after his shot went through Foster's legs.

Watford's task of scoring at least two goals became even more difficult when they were reduced to 10 men after Hassane Kamara, booked for handball earlier, was shown another yellow card for a foul on Michael Olise with around 20 minutes remaining.

"Last week, we were 1-0 up and looked as though we were going to carry that result through but when those last two goals went in... I think only someone who's got no idea what football is about would have believed we could still do it [avoid relegation]," Hodgson said.

"We were, I suppose, resigned to that to some extent last week, and I think that makes today's performance even more commendable... We kept going, we were competitive until the end and that was a good effort from our team."

The 74-year-old Hodgson will leave Watford having failed in his short-term mission to prevent the club making an immediate return to the Championship.

The former England manager was hired in January after the club dropped into the bottom three.

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the picture gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.