Jean-Philippe Mateta scored yet another goal under Oliver Glasner as Crystal Palace recorded a 3-1 win over Wolves at Molineux on Saturday.
The Frenchman now has ten goals in just 12 appearances since the Austrian replaced Roy Hodgson, taking him up to 16 goals in 38 games across all competitions for the season.
However, there was one moment where the usually bubbly Jean-Philippe Mateta was a bit annoyed with his Crystal Palace teammates…
Why Jean-Philippe Mateta was annoyed with Crystal Palace teammates
Just before the interval, Crystal Palace’s No.14 was doing his defensive work, tracking back to help out before finding himself pinned in the left-back position.
Mateta was visibly crying out for a passing option in fear of losing possession in a dangerous area, but nobody in red and blue showed themselves, leaving the goal machine frustrated.
Ambrose spotted the 26-year-old’s anguish while commentating on the game, saying: “He was clearly desperate for someone to come and help him, but nobody did.”
Fortunately, the ball was eventually cleared to safety.
Oliver Glasner must build the team around Frenchman in 2024/25
As talented as Ebere Eze and Michael Olise obviously are, they are able to become much more involved in games thanks to the hold-up play of Mateta, who does a fantastic job in pinning defenders back and creating space.
Ideally, we can keep the England international and the France U21 international, but if they do depart, Glasner must find similar forwards who can read the Sevran-born striker’s flick ons and make runs off the back of his hard work.
Whatever happens this summer, Mateta’s transformation in 2024 has been quite sensational, having previously found himself in a tough position under both Hodgson and Patrick Vieira with little game time – it even seemed like he could head through the Selhurst Park exit door in January too.
Therefore, the prolific frontman deserves so much credit for turning things around in SE25.
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