Daichi Kamada netted his second goal for Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
The Japan international has endured a tough start at Selhurst Park following a free transfer switch from Lazio during the summer, appearing to struggle with the intensity of English football.
However, the Crystal Palace No.18 stepped off the bench to smash in his second goal for the Eagles at Villa Park with a lovely strike, which secured a 2-1 win and put us into the Carabao Cup quarter-final, where a trip to Arsenal awaits.
After Daichi Kamada scored, Jean-Philippe Mateta did something which spoke volumes.
Daichi Kamada confidence issues reinforced by Jean-Philippe Mateta celebration
Kamada has quite visibly been struggling in terms of confidence since reuniting with Oliver Glasner at Crystal Palace, which the 28-year-old himself admitted on Wednesday night, saying: “Obviously, I’m happy to score for the team, but I’m still not happy with my performance.
“I know I can play better. I think I was losing confidence.”
It would seem his Crystal Palace teammates are eager for him to be more outgoing and believe in himself, as Mateta could be seen literally grabbing the Japanese midfielder’s arms and waving them in the air in front of the away fans inside Villa Park, as Kamada appeared too shy to soak up the limelight himself.
It also spoke volumes to see almost every outfield player sprint over to celebrate with the man born in Ehime – he is clearly a popular figure in SE25 who has struggled for confidence, amidst a tough start to the 2024/25 campaign for all involved.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 17 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 6 |
Hopefully, netting the winner away to a UEFA Champions League outfit in Aston Villa will show Kamada that he does belong at this level, and will kickstart his season.
Oliver Glasner must only use Daichi Kamada in an attacking role at Crystal Palace
Wednesday’s win over the Villans showed the best and the worst of Kamada.
Once again, the summer arrival struggled to perform when deployed bang in the centre of midfield – where he was deployed after we lost Adam Wharton to injury – losing the ball before Jhon Duran’s equaliser as he looked soft in the middle.
However, when deployed in more of an attacking midfield role, Kamada looked a lot sharper, using his energy to great effect when hunting down Aston Villa’s defenders, and taking his goal superbly.
Kamada even made history when scoring for Japan in a No.10 role recently.
The man who shone under Glasner in Frankfurt undoubtedly lacks the physical presence to play in a No.6 role in English football, but in the No.10 area, we may well have a player on our hands.
