The Eagles’ pre-season preparations ramped up another notch on Tuesday afternoon with a pair of fixtures against last season’s sixth-placed Bundesliga side Mainz at Hans-Ludwig-Stadion.
Mateta – for the second pre-season game in a row – was the man to open the scoring for Palace, latching onto Ismaíla Sarr’s pull-back and firing a fierce first-time finish beyond the covering defender on the line.
Mainz would ultimately equalise with five minutes remaining of the first game, before winning the second – in which Mateta did not feature – by three goals to two.
“Yeah, we’ve worked so hard [in training], and today as well,” Mateta told Palace TV.
“Yesterday we had a big session and today was like a big session as well. You have to do this to be ready for Liverpool [in the Community Shield] – and for the season.
“I feel good. I want to score, I want to win. It was a tough game today, you know, pre-season. We did everything today.
“I want to score every game and if I can celebrate with the fans, it's always good.”
On scoring against his former side, Mateta smiled: “It was always good to play with them. They played very good. It was tough for me!”
Next up for Palace: another double-header in Austria, this time against FC Augsburg, which will be streamed live on Palace TV+ on Friday.
