Talking points from Crystal Palace 4 Aston Villa 1 – Eagles turn home fortunes ahead of South London FA Cup Millwall clash
Crystal Palace secured an impressive 4-1 win over Champions League side Aston Villa on Tuesday night.
Ismaila Sarr scored two – as Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eddie Nketiah both found the net – as Palace moved back up to 12th in a congested Premier League table.
Here are Edmund Brack’s talking points from Selhurst Park:
TURNING HOME FORM INTO POINTS AHEAD OF MILLWALL
Ahead of a South London grudge match at Selhurst Park tomorrow against Millwall, Eagles boss Oliver Glasner would have been hoping that Tuesday night’s clash at home to Aston Villa would have been the remedy to Palace’s poor home form during this 2024-25 campaign.
The Eagles had won just twice in the league at Selhurst Park all season and narrowly knocked out League One side Stockport in the third round of the FA Cup 1-0 back in January.
They got off to the perfect start just 28 minutes in when Emiliano Martinez pushed Chris Richards’ header into a crowd of bodies and Sarr was on hand to put Glasner’s side ahead.
After having a close VAR call rule out a Morgan Rogers’ goal in the first half, the Villa attacker made no mistake six minutes into the start of the second half when he span Richards and scored beyond Dean Henderson.
But Mateta restored Palace’s lead in the 59th minute and Sarr extended their advantage 12 minutes later when he finished off Daniel Munoz’s cross.
Nketiah scored his very first Premier League goal for the club and wrapped up all three points in the 91st minute, converting Tyrick Mitchell’s cross from close range.
With bragging rights on the line and a place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup up for grabs this weekend, these three Premier League points and playing with the goalscoring prowess of last season will give Glasner’s side an abundance of confidence ahead of Saturday.
WHARTON’S FIRST START
After having his minutes carefully managed following groin surgery – an issue which had plagued the midfielder since the final of the Euros with England last summer – Adam Wharton was making his first Crystal Palace start on Tuesday night since October.
The 20-year-old’s ability to unlock stubborn sides with his passing range has been sorely missed and he was the best player on the pitch on Tuesday.
Wharton’s involvement led to all three goals during his time on the pitch.
He swung in a perfectly-weighted cross for Richards’ first-half chance that allowed Sarr to give Palace the lead.
Collecting the loose ball midway inside the Villa half with the game tied at 1-1, Wharton played an incisive ball into the path of Eze, who found Mateta to score beyond Olsen. Moments later he played a wonderful ball over the Villa backline to set Eze free and away on goal.
Wharton set up Palace’s third with two important actions in the build-up.
Firstly, he set away Munoz after winning possession. He then collected the ball again after Munoz’s cross was headed away from goal and set up the Colombian wing-back to send the ball back into the box for Sarr’s second.
The former Blackburn midfielder was replaced by Daichi Kamada in the 77th minute to a standing ovation.
ENGLAND HOPEFULS GIVE GOOD ACCOUNTS
With new England boss Thomas Tuchel in the stands, at least six of Glasner’s starting line-up will be hoping they did enough to impress the former Chelsea head coach ahead of his first squad announcement in just under two weeks’ time.
It looked as though Marc Guehi was going to have to end his audition early after going down just five minutes in with a suspected knee problem but the former Swansea loanee, who won a starting spot under Gareth Southgate at Euro 2024, soldiered on.
While it’s likely that a fit Wharton will be a given in the first squad, the selection of Eberechi Eze remains in doubt after just two Premier League goals all season.
He broke into gear after Palace took the lead and set up two chances in quick succesion. He strode forward with Sarr on the counter-attack in the 37th minute, pulling the ball back inch-perfectly for the former Watford attacker just inside the area.
Eze then played Mateta through minutes later with a clever backheel that took out the Villa defence.
The Greenwich-born playmaker continued to have an influence on the game in the second half. He played a role in Palace’s second goal – setting up Mateta after collecting a Wharton pass inside the area.
The ex-QPR attacker has been afflicted by a foot injury in recent months but he is gradually getting back to his best.
Will Hughes, who has been Palace’s unsung hero during their resurgence this season, was taken off in the 57th minute to avoid getting a red card after being booked in the first 45.
Despite how good the 29-year-old has been for Palace, it is unlikely he will win his first England cap.
Tyrick Mitchell picked up a good assist late on but is also a longshot for the first squad, with Dean Henderson expected to continue his role of Jordan Pickford’s deputy.
WHAT COULD THE REST OF THE SEASON HOLD?
With just three defeats in their last 16 Premier League games, Palace find themselves 10 points off the Champions League spots heading into the final few months of the season.
Sarr is in fine goalscoring form, Wharton is back fit and Eze is playing with freedom – three ingredients that could help Palace do something special in the rest of this campaign.
The Eagles are once again beginning to play with the free-flowing confidence and defensive stability that they showed under Glasner towards the end of last season.
As long as the squad can stay injury-free and they can pick up a few more wins at home, there could be an interesting end to Glasner’s first full season in charge.
PICTURE: ALAMY