Jean-Philippe Mateta says he welcomes the competition from fellow Crystal Palace forward Eddie Nketiah, who’s scored in his last two games now.
Oliver Glasner’s attacking options are looking very strong right now, especially after Crystal Palace’s 2-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv in the Conference League on Thursday.
That evening, Yeremy Pino shone for Crystal Palace grabbing his first two assists for the club, whilst Eddie Nketiah came off the bench to score his second goal in as many games.
It’s a nice problem for Oliver Glasner to have as Palace look to cement their spot in 3rd place of the Premier League table.
And for starting striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, it’s good competition as he looks to continue his fine scoring form for Crystal Palace.
Jean-Philippe Mateta rates Eddie Nketiah’s recent form at Crystal Palace
Speaking to The Athletic, Mateta was asked about Nketiah’s recent form. Nketiah scored the winning goal against Liverpool last weekend coming off the bench, doing so against Kyiv too. But Mateta clearly remains the starting striker for Glasner right now.
Mateta said of Nketiah: “He brings goals, he’s very important. To win games, we need everyone and Eddie is one of the squad. He’ll help us a lot. It’s a fair competition, I like him as a person and I hope he scores more goals. He was injured but is working very hard. He was with us when we were winning and now he’s getting the rewards.”
The 26-year-old Nketiah only featured once in pre-season before picking up another injury which kept him out until Crystal Palace’s win over West Ham last month, with the former Arsenal man now featuring in each of the last three games as a substitute.
Jean-Philippe Mateta is a huge fan of another Crystal Palace player too
Palace have some really exciting players in their ranks right now. Some more experienced than others, but pretty much every player is playing their part right now and there could be a few more who eventually leave Selhurst Park for big money.
Along with Nketiah, Mateta is a huge fan of Dean Henderson too, recently calling the Crystal Palace player the ‘best in the world’ after the win over Kyiv.
It shows not only the level of quality within the Crystal Palace squad right now but also the unity between the players, which will only grow stronger as this current 19 game unbeaten run goes on.
Crystal Palace take on Everton in the Premier League on Sunday.
