Talking points from Crystal Palace 4 Norwich 0 – Eagles close on two signings and Mateta shelves trademark celebration

Crystal Palace booked their place in the third round of the EFL Cup after a 4-0 win over Championship side Norwich at Selhurst Park on Tuesday evening.

Here are Edmund Brack’s talking points from the match.

FULL-STRENGTH PALACE EARN FIRST VICTORY OF THE SEASON

It has been a frustrating start to the campaign for Oliver Glasner’s side.

Along with suffering back-to-back Premier League defeats the Austrian has also had to cope with losing key players – Michael Olise, Jordan Ayew and Joachim Andersen – while also trying to control the noise surrounding other members of his squad this summer.

Marc Guehi has been heavily courted by Newcastle, and he could still be heading north by the time this paper goes to print, with Friday’s transfer deadline looming.

Star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta is in a contract stand-off with the club.

Goalkeeper Sam Johnstone has asked to leave and is poised for a move to Wolves.

Naouirou Ahamada is also keen on an exit.

So when Daichi Kamada rounded George Long after two minutes to put the Eagles ahead against Norwich on Tuesday evening – the first goal scored by a player in red-and-blue this season, it was a little bit of calm in Palace’s recent whirlwind window and week.

Palace were always heavy favourites once the teams were announced – Norwich only had three players starting from their 1-1 draw at Sheffield United in the Championship – but a near enough full-strength Palace side saw out the job.

NO BOOM TIME FOR JP

Mateta’s trademark to sign off on a goal had been to boot the corner flag to the ground.

But after netting his stunning overhead kick and then finishing off Eberechi Eze’s pass to get his first goals of the 2024-25 season, the Frenchman just chose to celebrate with his team-mates and shun the celebration he has become synonymous with at Selhurst Park.

It is understood the 27-year-old, who has 22 goals to his name in 2024, has put the celebration on ice for now as talks over his future with Palace have reached a standstill.

Mateta is keen to play Champions League football at this stage of his career, with teams showing interest this summer, but Palace have stood firm in rebuffing any enquiries.

The number 14 has two years left on his current deal, plus a club option of an extra 12 months.

The former Lyon frontman is crucial to Glasner’s Palace side clicking and he is getting back into the swing of Premier League football after a hectic summer of helping France to a silver medal at the Olympics.

KAMADA CONUNDRUM

The Japanese international put Palace ahead early on when he took Mateta’s pass around former Millwall goalkeeper George Long to get his first goal for the Eagles.

Kamada, signed on a free transfer after allowing his Lazio deal to expire, was handed a start in the opening day defeat at Brentford and showed glimpses of quality – intelligent touches and smart runs – but faded out of the derby.

His introduction in the second half against West Ham United, with Jefferson Lerma coming off, saw Palace lost control of the game and concede two goals in the space of nine minutes.
Glasner won the Europa League with Kamada an instrumental player during their time together at Entriatch Frankfurt.

He continued to play a role in the goals in the second half and set Mateta up for a sublime overhead kick.

Kamada’s arrival saw him become one of the top earners at Selhurst Park, but the conundrum will be how to get the best out of him in the Premier League.

LIGHT ON NUMBERS

Palace are set to bank at least £100million from senior player sales this summer.

Michael Olise joined Bayern Munich in a deal that will see Palace land a fee in the region of £50million once and the Eagles received £30million from Fulham to let Joachim Andersen leave on a potential six-year deal on £120,000 a week.

Jordan Ayew also left for Leicester, with Palace set to net £8million if all goes to plan.

But with Jairo Riedewald, James Tomkins, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and David Ozoh also making either permanent or loan exits, Palace have lost plenty of strength in depth and a combined 880 Premier League appearances.

Eddie Nketiah and Maxcence Lacroix were both expected to arrive at the time of writing, but Palace have lost one of the best young talent in the world, in Olise, and are yet to replace him with another exciting attacker.

Ismaila Sarr will bring pace and directness, with Kamada adding some real intelligence, but there is a real lack of creative spark to help Eberechi Eze.

DOUCOURE RETURNS

The major positive for Palace fans leaving Selhurst Park on Tuesday night was Cheick Doucoure making  it through 70 minutes before being replaced by Lerma.

Doucoure was one of Palace’s key assets before he ruptured his achilles in the 2-1 defeat at Luton in late November, and it was easy to forget the Mali international was being touted by Liverpool at the end of his first campaign when he won the club’s Player of the Year award.

Palace slapped a £70m valuation on the midfield general and handed him a new contract during his rehabilitation to show their faith in the 24-year-old.

He grew into Tuesday’s game and demonstrated some of the qualities which made him an instant hit in his debut campaign.