Who needs a summer break? Little more than two weeks have passed since Jean-Philippe Mateta scored in the Olympic Games final for France and the Crystal Palace striker picked up where he left off in the previous campaign by registering his first two goals of the new season in what proved eventually to be a comfortable win against Norwich.
Mateta’s tally of 16 last season was the most by a Palace player since a certain Andy Johnson 20 years ago but, with the expected arrival of Eddie Nketiah from Arsenal for £30m, he could face a potential threat to his status as Oliver Glasner’s preferred leading man. After laying on Daichi Kamada for the opener in a blistering start by the hosts, the 27‑year‑old found the net twice in the space of a few second-half minutes – the first an outstanding volley – before Eberechi Eze added a fourth to see off Norwich’s spirited challenge.
Two defeats to start the Premier League campaign prompted Glasner to send out a strong side, with Cheick Doucouré returning from nine months out and Sam Johnstone on the bench despite Palace being in talks with Wolves over a potential permanent move for the England goalkeeper.
Whether Marc Guéhi remains at Selhurst Park is still uncertain – especially after the new signing Chadi Riad limped off with a suspected knee injury after just 10 minutes – with Newcastle expected to return with a fifth bid before the transfer deadline on Friday. But the England defender produced a typically classy display as Norwich’s occasional attacks were nullified.
“We all hope it’s not too serious,” Glasner said of Riad’s injury. Asked whether Guéhi had played his last game for Palace, he said: “It’s my 50th birthday tomorrow and I have one wish – that I don’t have to be asked questions about the transfer window.”
Norwich have also not enjoyed the best of starts to the season under Johannes Hoff Thorup – a 35‑year‑old with just 18 months in charge of the Danish side Nordsjælland under his belt – and had yet to taste victory under their new manager. It took little more than 90 seconds for Palace to expose the defensive frailties of a team featuring seven changes. Kamada was played in by Mateta and slalomed around George Long to register his first Palace goal with ease.
Norwich should have been level when the teenager Gabriel Forsyth somehow managed to strike the outside of the post from four yards out after Dean Henderson had saved Ante Crnac’s shot. But there was bad news for Palace when Riad departed after colliding with Onel Hernández in the buildup, followed swiftly by Norwich’s Amankwah Forson – another summer purchase from RB Salzburg – clutching his collarbone.
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Eze was at his creative best and was disappointed to see his lob ruled out for a marginal offside. Yet the loud contingent of Norwich fans that had made the journey from Norfolk will have been encouraged by how their team coped with Palace’s threat for most of the first half. Only a last-ditch intervention from Guéhi could stop a lovely flowing counterattack from the visitors that started at Long’s feet and easily bypassed Palace’s press.
“It’s just a matter of time until we start scoring more goals because we are showing some moments of high quality in attack,” Hoff Thorup said.
The home crowd’s frustration was just starting to build midway through the second half when a short corner routine resulted in Kamada delivering the ball into the box and Mateta swivelled brilliantly to volley the ball into the net.
Eze was next to try his luck with an acrobatic effort as Palace tried to kill the game but it needed a double save from Henderson to keep out efforts from Crnac and the substitute Oscar Schwartau. Any hopes of sparking a comeback were ended a few minutes later when Mateta slammed home his second from Eze’s clever cutback.
Ismaïla Sarr, on as a substitute, could have made the scoreline even more emphatic late on but blazed over from close range before his deflection on Eze’s clever reverse shot eventually did.
