Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner was full of praise for Jean-Phillipe Mateta after the French striker scored twice against West Ham to win 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.
Mateta opened the scoring in the 48th minute with a strike from outside the penalty area, before sealing victory in the 89th minute by converting a penalty past Lukasz Fabianski at the London Stadium.
They were the 10th and 11th goals of the season in all competitions for the 27-year-old, who has now scored in three consecutive Premier League matches for the Eagles.
“I don't want to praise him because it's always teamwork. The striker's job is to score goals and he's doing a great job,” Glasner told BBC Sport after the win that helped Palace lift West Ham to 12th. jump.
“He gets the penalty and scores the goal, but he also works hard. He is a nice guy and always so cheerful in the dressing room.”
Mateta's opener against the Hammers was his 31st goal for Palace in the English top flight, but the first to be scored from outside the box.
The result meant Palace are now unbeaten in five league games ahead of next weekend's home game against Brentford.
Glasner's side have also gone seven consecutive away games without losing for the first time in their history, winning four and drawing three during the period.
Make that unbeaten away from home in the @premierleague #CPFC // #WHUCRY pic.twitter.com/prVphdk2Hr
— Crystal Palace FC (@CPFC) January 18, 2025
“It's a big progress. We talked about it at the beginning of the season when we were struggling with different things, but they're a great group to work with, they always listen,” Glasner said of their recent form.
“It's still January, but for us it's about staying humble and persevering, trying to get the result. We got three wins this week, so [the players] getting a little more free time than planned.”
On the other hand, West Ham suffered their second defeat in three games under Graham Potter and finishing the match without a single shot on target will cause concern for the new boss.
the second time this season that West Ham have failed to register a shot on target in a home Premier League match (against Liverpool and Crystal Palace). It is the first time since the 2005-2006 season that the Hammers have failed to do so several times at home in a top season (against Arsenal and Wigan).
“The game looked like it was one game too far for us in a long week. We are obviously disappointed with the result and performance. We were not able to show our quality,” said Potter.
The Hammers finished with seven tries and an xG of 0.3, while their opponents generated an xG of 1.31 from 12 shots, seven of which were on target.
“I don't think we could ever really take full control of the game. We struggled to create and sustain as many attacks as we would like. The better team won today, and we still have a lot to improve, and so we will.” do that by sticking together,” the former Brighton and Chelsea boss added.
West Ham next have to play away games against Aston Villa and Chelsea in the league.
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