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Jean-Philippe Mateta shares what he noticed about David Raya while sitting on the bench during Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
Jean-Philippe Mateta salvaged a point for Crystal Palace against Arsenal in spectacular fashion on Wednesday night.
The Frenchman took advantage of a sloppy pass from his fellow countryman William Saliba to lob the unsuspecting David Raya from roughly 30 yards out, with his fine effort clipping the crossbar on its way into the Arsenal net.
It was nothing less than Crystal Palace deserved after an impressive performance, registering 15 shots at the Emirates Stadium and winning six corners, one of which led to a great goal by Eberechi Eze.
Still can't get over this Jean-Philippe Mateta finish 🤯
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC)
Jean-Philippe Mateta was actually named on the bench by Oliver Glasner for this Premier League clash, ahead of an FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa on Saturday, and the Crystal Palace No.14 was keeping a close eye on Raya during the 2-2 draw.
Jean-Philippe Mateta says he planned to take advantage of David Raya’s positioning
Speaking to Sport about his goal, the 27-year-old said: “When I started on the bench I could see he (David Raya) was very high up the pitch. So I knew if I won the ball I could try, so I did and scored. It is one of the best goals of my career. I thought it hit the crossbar but thankfully it was in!”
In fairness to the Spaniard, he probably didn’t expect Saliba to lose the ball so suddenly, and raced back to his line as soon as possession had been turned over, but it was not enough to get a hand on the strike from Mateta.
Oliver Glasner told Crystal Palace players to keep an eye on the Arsenal No.22
Glasner – who Tottenham admire – admitted to beIN SPORTS after the draw that he instructed his Crystal Palace players to keep an eye on Raya throughout the game, given his tendency to stray well away from his line.
The Austrian added: “It was the third time we had this (type of) opportunity. First half, Justin Devenny won the ball and Raya was high but he didn’t recognise it. We showed them when we prepared for Arsenal because this is how they play.”
🗣️ "All the credit to the players… It's not so easy to focus on this game when three days later you are playing the FA Cup semi-final."
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN)
Oliver Glasner's thoughts following Crystal Palace's 2-2 draw at the Emirates.
🎙️
Needless to say, Mateta – who Manchester United want – thrived where Devenny did not, taking full advantage of the Spain international wandering off his line.