Mateta: I can show my quality
Jean-Philippe Mateta feels Palace played well against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, but lacked the final cutting edge needed to secure victory.
The forward registered his third goal in his last four games – and fifth goal involvement in his last seven – when he slammed Ebere Eze’s early lay-off into the roof of the net on Saturday afternoon.
After Palace were denied on several further occasions by Forest ‘keeper Mats Selz, their forward Chris Wood provided a clever finish to draw his team level, forcing Palace to fight hard for a draw in front of a raucous home crowd.
Even then, the Eagles had opportunities to win it – hitting the post in the closing stages from one set-piece – but they were ultimately forced to settle for a point.
Mateta told Palace TV: “We played good, but it’s difficult to play away in this pitch in Nottingham.
“They played good in front of the [home] fans. In their situation, the fans pushed them, and it’s not easy.
“We had the chance to kill the game, but we didn’t. Hopefully we’re going to kill the game off in the future.”
The No. 14 is enjoying his strongest season in a Palace shirt to date, with six goals and five assists in 26 appearances overall – his previous bests were five and one in 2021/22.
His recent fine form has come at the pointe of new manager Oliver Glasner’s attack, with Mateta admitting: “I enjoy it. It’s not easy, you have to run! But it’s okay, it’s good.
“At the moment, yeah [I am doing well], but I know I can do more – more on the pitch, more on growing my confidence, and I can show my quality.
“[For my goal] I was thinking he [Eze] didn’t see me, but he saw me, and I had to finish it!”