Oliver Glasner is hopeful Jean-Philippe Mateta will be back in the good graces of Crystal Palace fans after his star turn against Newcastle United.
Mateta scored both of Palace’s goals in a 2-1 comeback win over Newcastle United at Selhurst Park.
He headed home from Tyrick Mitchell’s cross in the 80th minute, before slamming in from the penalty spot deep in stoppage time.
The Frenchman scored in the Premier League for the first time since January 1. Mateta had been aiming to leave Palace in the winter transfer window, but a move to AC Milan fell through as he failed a medical.
But with Mateta having returned to scoring form in Palace’s 3-0 Conference League defeat of Fiorentina on Thursday before his superb cameo on Sunday, Glasner is confident the striker is now back in the good books among the Eagles’ faithful.
“I was delighted for him and I mentioned weeks ago that is what he deserves,” Glasner said of Mateta, who spent time out nursing a knee issue following the collapse of the Milan move.
“As soon as it was clear that he had to stay at Crystal Palace, he said: ‘OK, I will work very, very hard to come back and help the team win,’ and to help us achieve all our goals.
Never in doubt pic.twitter.com/BaeBYRsdBA
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) April 12, 2026
“This is what he has showed and he is now getting back to his top fitness.
“I thought Jorgen [Strand Larsen] worked very hard and the Newcastle centre-backs looked fatigued at the end because they had to really work very hard against him and against all the others.
“For me, it was a massive performance, not just regarding football, but also psychologically.”
Mateta has converted each of his eight Premier League penalties, with only Raul Jimenez (14), Yaya Toure (11) and Dimitar Berbatov (nine) maintaining a better 100% success rate from the spot in the competition’s history.
The 28-year-old has now scored 31 Premier League goals at Selhurst Park, with only Wilfried Zaha netting more on home soil for Crystal Palace in the competition (32).
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