Wilfried Zaha became Crystal Palace’s all-time leading Premier League scorer – but it wasn’t enough as they fell to a second straight defeat against Watford.

Roberto Pereyra curled the ball past Wayne Hennessey before José Holebas inadvertently scored from a cross during the second-half.

Though Zaha cut round the Watford defence to help stage a late comeback, it was not enough to prevent the Hornets’ third consecutive league victory.

Here are five things we learned…

Zaha heroics marred by earlier incidents

It did not take long for the Ivory Coast winger to become centre-stage – in fact it took all but 10 minutes.

He was brought down by Etienne Capoue from behind before being adjudged to have fouled Holebas by referee Anthony Taylor – prompting a yellow card.

Clashes with Daryl Janmaat at a throw-in rounded off a tepid first-half, and it wasn’t until late into the second that he found the net on a bad day for him overall.

Palace made to rue first-half chances

Christian Benteke and James McArthur both had opportunities to get the visitors off to a flying start against an in-form Watford.

But crucial saves from Ben Foster denied early celebrations in what turned out to be among their best chances all game.

A good first-half was followed on with a tougher second 45 minutes, with the Hornets’ rearguard proving to be a sting in the Eagles’ backside.

Martin Kelly stepped up when he was needed most

James Tomkins’ discomfort during training earlier in the week appeared to foreshadow his last-minute withdrawal from the starting 11 at Vicarage Road.

The defender has been a mainstay in Roy Hodgson’s lineup, but the former England boss was forced to hand Kelly his first Premier League start this season.

And the stand-in did not look out of place – helping Mamadou Sakho to corral the threat of Andre Gray and Troy Deeney. Impressive given the circumstances.

Second-half exploited areas reminds Palace of where improvements are needed

A frustrating aspect of Palace’s last three games has been an inability to execute scoring opportunities – a theme which stretches into last season.

Granted. Palace are not goal shy, however, the defeat to Watford highlighted a need to find goalscorers across the team and not just in the front four.

In addition, punishing opponents through counter-attacking play was a major weakness when Watford looked outnumbered but it never came to fruition for Palace in the end.

Max Meyer provided small positives amid a disheartening defeat

Like his cameo earlier in the week against Liverpool, the new signing from Schalke 04 showed some of the creative sparks he was brought in to provide.

At times the opposition struggled to keep tabs on him – his agility enabling him to be a nuisance as he made his way into Watford’s final third.

When he will get his first full start is anyone’s guess, and it may be a while yet, but Palace fans will be buoyed by Hodgson having the “German Messi” at his disposal.