Summary

• The game starts slowly, with few chances over the first 15 minutes
• Eberechi Eze opens the scoring with a well-hit effort from 20 yards
• Half-time: QPR 0-1 Crystal Palace
• After making three changes at the break Palace add a second when Wilfried Zaha whips one in from the edge of the box
• The second-half is slightly livelier than the first, but neither side creates too strong a threat for the two ‘keepers
• Zaha then bags his second brace of the weekend by converting a penalty earned by Christian Benteke
• Full-time: QPR 0-3 Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace had just two tests left in their 2022/23 pre-season before travelling to Loftus Road on Saturday afternoon, with the penultimate one coming against Championship opposition.

The Eagles made the short trip west to face Queens Park Rangers, where Eberechi Eze opened the scoring against his former side after a warm welcome.

Eze’s effort proved to be the first of two impressive 20-yard strikes, with Wilfried Zaha putting his side two ahead in similar fashion to his teammate.

The Ivorian then made it three by slotting in from 12 yards, sending Seny Dieng the wrong way and finding the very corner of the net. It was his second brace of the week after securing victory over Gillingham on Tuesday; not a bad rate for a winger.

The rest of the game was a relatively quiet affair, and didn’t get going in earnest until Eze’s effort. From there Palace seemed largely in control, restricting their hosts to tame chances and enjoying the most possession.

It made an encouraging scoreline to end an encouraging afternoon, with most of Palace’s first-team players featuring for 90 minutes before Montpellier close pre-season next week.

Roberts: We stepped up

18:22

Assistant manager Osian Roberts has explained Palace needed to step up their intensity for the QPR match, with just one pre-season friendly now remaining.

He explained: “It’s important that players, as many as possible, got 90 minutes, which they did, and that that intensity was returning to our game at the level we expect. So we’re really pleased with that work ethic and attitude in stepping up that intensity we need going into the last two weeks.

“We’ve built it up progressively from 45 [minutes] to 60 and then into 75s before today… Today I was hoping we could get really good output from the players both physically and in terms of technically and tactically, starting to get into a rhythm. And we got that for the majority of the game."

Read more from Roberts here.

Full-time: QPR 0-3 Crystal Palace

16:47

The final whistle confirms a Palace win that seemed likely for a while.

Goals from Eberechi Eze and Wilfried Zaha (two) make it a successful afternoon.

Stayed tuned for the reaction!

Palace change

86 mins

On: Ryan Bartley

Off: Marc Guéhi

85 mins

On: Sinclair Armstrong

Off: Lyndon Dykes off

GOAL! QPR 0-3 Palace: Zaha hits his brace

79 mins

Another great penalty from Wilf, striking deep into the bottom-left corner to surely secure this win.

That's consecutive matches he's now sealed a brace with a late penalty.

PENALTY

78 mins

Benteke earns Palace a penalty, and Zaha picks up the ball.

77 mins

Another change for the Hoops.

On: George Thomas

Off: Stefan Johansen

71 mins

The hosts shuffle their hand.

On: Jimmy Dunne, Olamide Shodipo.

Off: Ilias Chair, Jake Clarke-Salter

Subs for both teams

60 mins

QPR

On: Macauley Bonne

Off: Albert Adomah

Palace

On: Noah Watson

Off: Jaïro Riedewald

Watch it back

Goal of the summer from Wilfried Zaha:

Looking for two

57 mins

Eze puts the ball inches wide of goal.

GOAL! QPR 0-2 Palace: Zaha bags a screamer

50 mins

Two goals, two great strikes.

Zaha lands a screamer after some more smart link-up play with Riedewald.

Benteke, with his back to goal, returned the Ivorian the ball for him to launch first-time into the back of the net from 20 yards.

48 mins

To explain those subs, Academy player David Boateng has slotted in at right-back, Cheick Doucouré has moved to centre-back and Hughes and McArthur are in the centre of midfield.

Close!

47 mins

Zaha goes close from the left, striking the ball just wide via a deflection.

Half-time subs

45 mins

Palace have made a few changes at the break:

On: Will Hughes, James McArthur, David Boateng

Off: Nathan Ferguson, James Tomkins, Luke Plange

And we're back

45 mins

The hosts get us back underway for the second-half.

QPR start their Championship season next week while Palace have another friendly to go, so we might see a slight imbalance in subs this half.

The half in numbers

Palace stats shown second

• Possession: 45% v 55%
• Shots: 5 v 5
• Corners: 2 v 3

Half-time: QPR 0-1 Crystal Palace

It's been a relatively quiet game of football so far, with Eze's edge of the box strike the only real highlight.

44 mins

Moments before half-time Zaha hits the home defence with a shot produced at the end of an impressive run along the left.

That's likely to be the last chance of the half.

Eze's effort

Take a look at that Eze strike.

Well in, Joe

38 mins

Academy goalkeeper Joe Whitworth shows that he's remained alert by getting down and holding Lyndon Dyke's close-range shot.

32 mins

The fans have spotted Michael Olise, who isn't in today's squad, watching from the stands, and are singing his name.

30 mins

QPR respond through a Osman Kakay strike. It was clearly going wide from the moment it left his boot, but not by much. Threatening from the hosts.

GOAL! QPR 0-1 Palace: Eze grabs the lead

29 mins

It's a sensational 20-yard strike from Eberechi Eze against his former club, launching Palace into the lead after collecting the ball back from his own a quick free-kick.

21 mins

QPR start to apply a little pressure, but aren't using their chances so far. In the space of a minute the hosts crossed almost out of touch, thwacked a shot into the crowd and forced Guéhi into heading to safety.

WE HAVE A SHOT

18 mins

Thank you, Wilfried Zaha, for today's first shot on target.

The Palace winger links-up well with Riedewald in the box before firing the ball into Seny Dieng's legs from a very tight angle. He may well have been looking for Benteke, who was free in front of an open goal at the back post.

13 mins

Not much to report so far.

QPR have tried to break forward a few times but have been confidently blocked.

The lineup

8 mins

Palace have James Tomkins at right-back, with the versatile Nathan Ferguson starting alongside Marc Guéhi in the centre of defence.

Jaïro Riedewald takes the left-back spot while Jeffrey Schlupp, Cheick Doucouré and Eberechi Eze fill the midfield; when able to Eze is pushing up into a front four between Luke Plange on the right-wing and Christian Benteke up-front.

5 mins

QPR are pressing high but Palace are moving the ball quickly at the back.

Neither 'keeper has used their gloves yet.

Kick-off

15:00

We're underway at Loftus Road.

Time to tune-in

14:59

The teams are walking out, so now's the time to tune-in and watch live!

Next up

14:42

Palace have just one pre-season clash left after today, taking on Montpellier at Selhurst next Saturday.

Get your tickets for the return to SE25 from £5 here.

ICYMI

14:32

Supporters saw the Palace third kit for the first time this week. Get yours here.

Last time out

14:20

Here's how the contingent of Academy players and first-teamers who did not travel for tour fared in their last clash.

Today's setting

14:15

The crowd is starting to mill in as the players warm-up bathed in sunlight.

With 45 minutes to go, make sure you've got your Palace TV+ to watch live.

The lads are here

14:10

Palace are here in west London, with Eberechi Eze back at the club he joined Palace from.

Macca on the scoresheet

14:05

Relive a few highs from recent clashes with the Hoops.

How we line-up

14:00

The team news is in, and Palace have made three changes from their 3-2 win over Gillingham.

Joe Whitworth replaces Owen Goodman, Nathan Ferguson for David Boateng, and James Tomkins for Joe Sheridan.

QPR: Dieng, Kakay, Dickie, Clarke-Salter, Paal, Johansen, Field, Dozzell, Adomah, Chair, Dykes.

Subs: Walsh, Drewe, Dunne, Hamalainen, Shodipo, Thomas, Armstrong, Bonne.

Palace: Whitworth, Ferguson, Tomkins, Guéhi, Riedewald, Doucouré, Eze, Schlupp, Plange, Benteke, Zaha.

Subs: Goodman, Watson, Addae, D.Boateng, Bartley, Hughes, McArthur, Wells-Morrison, Mooney, Vigor, Cadogan, Gordon.

Familiar territory

13:50

Eberechi Eze returns to face his former side this afternoon. The Palace man made his breakthrough with the Hoops in 2017 and made 112 appearances before moving to south London.

It’s been a while…

13:40

The last time Palace played competitively at Loftus Road was a 0-0 draw in 2014/15.

Keith Millen took charge as caretaker for this game after ex-Hoops manager Neil Warnock’s departure.

Countdown to kick-off

13:30

As it so often does, pre-season has flown by and this afternoon Crystal Palace are already preparing for their penultimate friendly of summer 2022.

The south Londoners have travelled west to Loftus Road where they will take on Championship club Queens Park Rangers before ending pre-season at Selhurst v Montpellier next Saturday.

So far the summer has involved a tour in Singapore and Australia, and matches in England for a mixed squad of first-team and Academy players who did not travel. Palace have won three, lost two and drawn two, blooding new talents Luke Plange, Malcolm Ebiowei and Cheick Doucouré in the process.

Today, they take on a QPR side that has enjoyed a relatively successful pre-season, drubbing Wealdstone 8-2 last time out. This is their final friendly before the Championship returns next weekend; QPR will open their season against Blackburn Rovers.

Here, we'll bring you team news at 14:00, all the pre-match snippets you need to know, live updates from the match, and all the post-match reaction.

And don't forget, you can watch this penultimate friendly live on Palace TV+. Click here for more information.