Crystal Palace

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Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta has revealed that he has spoken to Wilfried Zaha and cleared up any disagreements.

Two weeks ago, Mateta told French newspaper L'Equipe that during his time at Palace, Zaha and others laughed when he said he wanted to play for France - a moment he used as motivation.

Ex-Eagles winger Zaha, now playing for MLS side Charlotte FC on loan from Galatasaray, hit back, calling the claim "disgusting" and denying he ever mocked Mateta's ambitions.

"I spoke with him - everything is good," Mateta said. "We talked in private and that's it."

The 28-year-old made his full senior debut for Les Bleus and scored against Iceland earlier this month to cap a remarkable rise in form at Selhurst Park.

Speaking before Thursday's Conference League game with AEK Larneca at Selhurst Park, the striker said he was "very proud" to represent his country.

"I am very proud obviously and happy, and I think I deserve it because I train very hard," Mateta said. "It's a dream come true and I hope I will get called up again.

"I am a very ambitious guy, and when I take up something, I try to do everything to make it come true."

The forward also spoke about how his background in the Bundesliga system has helped him adapt quickly to Palace boss Oliver Glasner's methods.

"He used to train in Germany, and when he came in [and said] how we need to play, I think I understand because I am from the German league too," Mateta added. "I train hard every day, I want to play every game, and I show him I am ready for him and the team."

Karan Vinod
BBC Sport journalist

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Europa Conference League game against AEK Larnaca at Selhurst Park (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On team news: "We've no injury concerns – all players are fit, all players look really good and are in a good shape. We're ready for our first home game in the Conference League."

• Glasner said that the "best team that makes sense for us" will play in the Europa League, irrespective of the volume of fixtures, He added that he believes Palace have the squad to cope with so many games.

• On winger Romain Esse: "As soon as we believe he can help the team, he will play. He's come to a different country and into a team that is doing really well, where everybody knows what they have to do. You have competition and you have to be better than the other player and show that you are ready to help the team."

• On Esse, Rio Cardines, and Christantus Uche being involved with the Palace Under-21s on Tuesday: "It was just that (Esse) didn't play for the international teams. They were called up for Nigeria and England Under-21s and didn't get minutes there and he didn't get many minutes for us. We don't train a lot at the moment, with four games in nine days, so it was the last opportunity to give them an 11 versus 11. It is important if they have to play in the next four days and then haven't played an 11 v 11 for three or four weeks. They just played 45 minutes, but they will be in the matchday squad."

• The Austrian also praised the Palace medical department and the "professionalism" of his players and said he thinks this is why they do not have many injuries.

• Glasner on the depth of his squad: "I think the squad is enough, so why would we need 28 [players]? It just makes no sense, even more so if you build an academy like this. How can we show our talents in the academy a pathway and that they will be involved if you have five players who are not called up for the team, even senior players?"

• On Jean-Philippe Mateta's goalscoring form: "He comes into a group and everybody loves him. He's such a great guy, always smiling and happy, and it makes it so easy to be welcomed. If he doesn't know anyone, after five minutes, he knows everyone. That's one of his biggest strengths."

Follow all of Wednesday's news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Alex Pewter
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Jean-Philippe Mateta may be the most heavily featured player in these Tuesday posts this season, and just as we try to escape his orbit to bring focus to the remainder of the squad, he drags us back in.

In a week when he debuted for France and scored later in the week, the game against Bournemouth reached new heights. A hat-trick, only the third for the club in the Premier League era, two of which belong to Palace's number 14.

Yet, at full time, the forward was visibly disappointed not to have had more. Perhaps four or five goals would have been a fairer reflection of the chances he had – at least that will be the standard he is setting for himself. His personal xG total of 3.34 exceeded every other team this weekend.

In terms of his overall record, this run of goalscoring, primarily since the start of 2024, has elevated Mateta into the upper echelons in club history. He is the 24th man to score 50 or more goals and, in the top flight, is the second-highest scorer ever, with only his new via-the-media rival Wilfried Zaha left to chase down.

By the 2025-26 Premier League statistics, Erling Haaland remains in a different stratosphere in terms of chances and goals to the rest of the division. Mateta, even after removing his two penalties, is in second place in terms of xG.

Mateta will want more. While he is high up in big chances, he also leads the division in big chances missed with 10, marginally ahead of Haaland himself. Both forwards are clearly getting into the right places regularly, without a perfect success rate.

The 20-goal-a-season striker is often spoken of in football, and only Andy Johnson has ever reached that milestone in the top flight for Palace. Can Mateta be the second? He is currently on pace for it.

Find more from Alex Pewter at FYP podcast, external

Barcelona and Real Madrid are closely monitoring Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi, 25. (Fichajes - in Spanish, external), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday' s full gossip column.

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.

Here are some of your comments:

Palace fans

Bob: A great comeback from being 2-0 down, and thanks to Daniel Munoz. We could have lost the game but he defended superbly denying Bournemouth late in the game. If only Jean-Philippe Mateta could have scored from point-blank range at the end of the game. Still a valuable point!

Al: Sometimes a game just goes crazy and this was one of them. On another day, Mateta could have had five goals. This Palace team just fight for each other. A manager's nightmare to watch but a great spectacle for football fans.

Trevor: PHEW.

Glen: It was a great comeback from Palace but honestly we should have not been in that position in the first place if we had taken our chances. Bournemouth were well drilled and took their chances but we were wasteful. We need to be more ruthless in front of goal. Saying all that, as a supporter of 40 years I have never seen Palace so impressive on and off the pitch.

Bournemouth fans

Ray: Fabulous first half and a great performance. Sadly Palace looked like they were going to score from every attack in the second. Take the point and move on.

Oliver: We played very well. Many VAR checks that were not all correct from my perspective like the penalty - Marc Guehi pulled Bafode Diakite's shirt and goes diving and from the ref's perspective it looks like he was fouled. I thought that Eli Kroupi had a great game. As long as we can keep the momentum going, we can get into Europe.

Jim: What a fantastic game to watch. Mateta was the difference between a Cherries win and a draw. Thankfully he skied the ball at the end. It would have been so unfair if it had gone in. Ignoring VAR, a fair result in the end.

David: Tremendous character to regain the lead at 2-2. If that's a penalty, why don't we see 10 more like that every weekend?

Match of the Day's Alan Shearer says "defenders do not enjoy playing against" Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta "because he is awkward, as game as they come and will run in behind."

The Frenchman's hat-trick earned Palace a point against Bournemouth on Saturday.

Pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards join host Gabby Logan to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Manchester City 2-0 Everton

• Crystal Palace 3-3 Bournemouth

• Fulham 0-1 Arsenal

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Reuters

Before this match Crystal Palace had conceded just five goals in seven league matches, with only Arsenal having a tighter defence.

Boss Oliver Glasner will therefore be disappointed with his side's defending which cost them a victory in this six-goal thriller with Bournemouth at Selhurst Park.

The Eagles backline left 19-year-old Eli Kroupi free to head in unchallenged for his first goal of the afternoon after only seven minutes, before skipper Marc Guehi made an uncharacteristic error with a poor clearance for his second.

But Palace were a completely different side after the break. They thought Bournemouth should have gone down to 10 men when Marcos Senesi brought down Ismaila Sarr only for referee Jarred Gillett, having been sent to the pitchside monitor by the video assistant referee (VAR), to stick with his original call of a yellow card.

Jean-Philippe Mateta's first two goals, both coming inside a five-minute second-half spell and both converted after fine work by Daniel Munoz, brought Palace level, only for Ryan Christie to be given too much space in another defensive error to put the visitors 3-2 ahead.

But Mateta rescued a point late on as he stayed calm from the penalty spot in the 97th minute to complete his hat-trick.

Although happy with the recovery, Glasner will be unhappy with the three goals his side conceded.

Oliver Glasner spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Crystal Palace's draw against Bournemouth: "I know how our games are going, our last game against Liverpool and our away game to Everton was the same. It's that last goal in the extra time.

"I am so proud of the performance today not the result. How we played and how many chances we created.

"We were ruthless and every chance was a goal. The mentality of the team and the problems we caused. There has not been many teams that has caused Palace so many problems. It was an incredible display.

"I don't think they were that much better in the first-half. When we go in details I think it was an even game, they were ruthless and we said we would stick with the plan and we did.

"Our first goal we were back on the game."

On people doubting their character: "I think everyone enjoyed it. I never doubt our character because we have shown and proved it so many times."

Goalscorer Jean-Philippe Mateta also spoke to MOTD after the draw: "With the last chance I had, I am very frustrated but take this one.

"For our fans, I think it was a good game to watch. For us as professionals and the gaffer, I don't think he is very happy. We were 2-0 down but we came back and were good. There is a fantastic spirit and you can see that today, we didn't give up."

On scoring for France: "It was a dream come true t and now I am back with Crystal Palace and working hard."

Did you know?

Courtesy of his hat-trick, Jean-Philippe Mateta has now registered 51 goal involvements in the Premier League (43 goals, 8 assists), just the third player to hit 50+ for Crystal Palace after Wilfried Zaha (96) and Eberechi Eze (57) while he is responsible for two of the Eagles' three Premier League hat-tricks.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

What did you learn from Crystal Palace's display?

Have your say on Bournemouth's performance

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

It is same again for Crystal Palace with Oliver Glasner sticking with the same 11 that began the 2-1 loss at Everton on 5 October.

Crystal Palace XI: Henderson, Munoz, Lacroix, Guehi, Mitchell, Richards, Wharton, Kamada, Sarr, Pino, Mateta.

Subs: Benitez, Clyne, Devenny, Canvot, Lerma, Sosa, Hughes, Esse, Nketiah.

Bournemouth, who could go top for a few hours if they win at Selhurst Park before Arsenal play in the later game, make three changes from the side that won 3-1 against Fulham.

In come Alex Jimenez, Eli Kroupi and Justin Kluivert and out go David Brooks, Evanilson and James Hill.

Brooks was captain on 3 October and with him missing, Marcus Tavernier gets the armband.

Bournemouth XI: Petrovic, Jimenez, Truffert, Senesi, Kroupi, Scott, Diakite, Adams, Tavernier, Kluivert, Semenyo.

Subs: Dennis, Araujo, Smith, Cook, Adli, Hill, Milosavljevic, Christie, Gannon-Doak.

There are seven games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (12:30)

• Brighton v Newcastle

• Burnley v Leeds United

• Crystal Palace v Bournemouth

• Man City v Everton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Sunderland v Wolves - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Fulham v Arsenal (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Fulham v Arsenal", for instance.

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What an absolute nightmare of a game this is to predict.

Two brilliantly coached teams, who are so well organised and in great form, and are capable of getting a result against anyone, home or away.

I could make a case for both of them to win this, so the easy way out would be to opt for a draw - but I can't go for another one of those, despite both meetings between the two sides finishing 0-0 last season.

Instead, I am going for someone to nick it. But who?

I might as well toss a coin here... but I am going to go with Antoine Semenyo to win it for Bournemouth, although you can guarantee that Palace will score in the first five minutes now.

Sutton's prediction: 0-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Noel Sliney
BBC Sport senior journalist

The two Premier League meetings between Crystal Palace and Bournemouth last season finished goalless. A repeat is surely unlikely, with both teams providing plenty of entertainment during the current campaign and occupying top-six places before Saturday's encounter.

Crystal Palace have continued to build on last season's historic FA Cup victory and best ever Premier League points tally. Though their club record 19-match unbeaten run was ended by Everton before the international break, Palace's current streak of nine top-flight home games without defeat is their longest since 1990.

It is little wonder that club chairman Steve Parish is keen to keep manager Oliver Glasner, who is out of contract at the end of the season. "Oliver wants to win things, he makes no secret of that," said Parish last weekend. "So if we can align those interests then hopefully we can make something happen."

Palace have actually made the biggest improvement when comparing the current points tallies of Premier League clubs to this time last season. The Eagles have earned nine points more from their opening seven matches than they did during a sluggish start to 2024-25.

Bournemouth, along with Everton, are the next-biggest improvers among the 17 ever-present Premier League sides this season and last. They are six points better off after seven games.

Bournemouth are unbeaten in the league since an opening-weekend defeat at Anfield and went second in the table, albeit just for a day, after beating Fulham in their most recent fixture. It was their highest ever Premier League position after at least two rounds of matches.

The Cherries have spent 42% of their games in the lead, second only to Manchester City. Palace, who have been ahead for 39% of the time, rank fourth.

However, Bournemouth's away form is patchy. Their only two away league wins in the past nine attempts both came in London - against Arsenal in May and Tottenham in August.

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Bournemouth at Selhurst Park (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• He confirmed that all players who went on international duty have come back injury-free, meaning Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure's long-term injuries are his only fitness problems.

• Glasner added that Riad, who last played in January, was expected to have returned by now, but said "We have five games and especially from Thursday [23 October] until Saturday [1 November], we have four games in nine days. I think after this period that he will be with us."

• He says that he has not talked to Jean-Philippe Mateta about his recent online interaction with former Palace man Wilfried Zaha, stressing that he has "more important things to talk about" as Palace boss.

• He spoke at length about rumours of a new contract at Selhurst Park: "I met Steve [Parish] on Sunday at an NFL game and we talked. I met him on Tuesday, we talked. I met him on Wednesday and we talked. He is here today and we talked. We talk almost every day."

• More on the discussions with Parish: "It is not that I need conditions or that I want something - Crystal Palace wants to be successful and wants to continue this pathway. We are always discussing how to have the best chance to continue. If we can find the same pathway and same goal for Crystal Palace, we will enter talks. If we can't find it, we will also enter talks."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to full commentary of Crystal Palace v Bournemouth from 15:00 BST on Saturday on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Image source, Getty Images

Former Crystal Palace forward Wilfred Zaha has hit back at Jean-Philippe Mateta after the Frenchman claimed his ex-team-mate doubted he would ever play for his national team.

Mateta, 28, made his first start for France during the international break and told L'Equipe newspaper, external: "At Crystal Palace, right at the start, when I wasn't even playing, I spoke about the France team in the dressing room and I had team-mates like Wilfried Zaha who were laughing.

"They said that I was mad to think about the France team when I wasn't even playing at Crystal Palace, but I responded saying that it was my objective and that I simply had to play to show what I could do."

Zaha took to social media to defend himself, saying his "head's on fire" at what he has been reading and he wanted "to clear up this Mateta situation".

He added that "it's disgusting" because he has "never mentioned him," and questioned why he singled out his name from 10 players.

The 'beef' has caused a social media storm but European football journalist Rafael Honigstein is confused by Zaha's response.

"It didn't seem that bad a comment [by Mateta] and was perhaps said more in jest as 'well I've shown everyone'," Honigstein told BBC Radio 5 Live's Euro League's podcast.

"I don't get where the animosity or hate comes from.

"Zaha said in an interview before that he doesn't have any friends in football, maybe that is because he takes things very seriously - too seriously.

"I think Mateta was just making the point that people didn't believe in him. He mentioned one name and Zaha has taken it very badly.

"I don't really see what the fuss is!"

Listen to the full chat on BBC Sounds

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

Looking at Premier League teams' attacks specifically in the graphic below, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool have taken by far the most shots, averaging about 15 per game.

But the reason why Manchester City and Crystal Palace have the best attacks overall is because they are creating much better chances, averaging about 0.14 xG per shot.

What that means is that historically Premier League sides have converted the chances City and Palace are creating at a rate of 14%, compared to 10% of the shots that United, Arsenal and Liverpool are.

Brentford are a strange side because while they are averaging just eight shots per game, the quality of those chances has been so high that their attack still ranks mid-table overall.

Read more on what expected goals tell us about the start to the season

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

The Premier League table is starting to take shape and while results are obviously what matter most, they don't tell the whole story in terms of how teams have been playing so far.

Expected goals (xG) tells us how much teams have been dominating games by creating lots of good chances up front and restricting opponents to few, bad ones at the back.

Penalties are excluded because they distort a team's numbers on how threatening or vulnerable they are in general, especially at this early stage.

Below is a graphic showing how good teams have been in attack and defence, with the most dominant teams in the top-right corner and the least impressive in the bottom-left corner.

Arsenal and Manchester City have been the most dominant sides, with the Gunners having the best defence and fourth-best attack and City the joint-best attack and fourth-best defence.

High-flying Crystal Palace are the only side to rival City's attacking threat, while Newcastle are living up to their name by being almost as impregnable at the back as Arsenal.

Both Manchester United and Chelsea have one of the top five attacks in the league but worryingly also rank in the bottom five defensively.

• Find and follow your Premier League club on BBC Sport

Liverpool's back-to-back defeats following five straight wins gives a more accurate picture of how they have been playing, while Tottenham have needed to be very efficient to make up for their lack of dominance in games.

Aston Villa's early-season struggles are no longer to do with finishing - they have now scored six non-penalty goals from an xG of 6.0 - but simply because they have not been playing well.

While promoted sides Leeds and Sunderland have adapted quite well to the top-flight, Burnley have struggled to make the jump so far with both the worst attack and the worst defence.

Read more on what expected goals tell us about the start to the season