JEAN-PHILIPPE MATETA may come to view a week in December as a sliding-doors moment in his career.
Losing the battle for game time to Odsonne Edouard, the Frenchman was considering his Crystal Palace future.
The January transfer window was fast approaching and Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig and Real Betis were all interested in him.
But when Edouard suffered a knee injury against Liverpool on December 9, Mateta replaced him at half-time and converted from the spot in a 2-1 defeat.
Seven days later, he scored the 76th-minute goal that started Palace's spirited comeback from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Manchester City at the Etihad.
Since then, Mateta has not lost his place in the Palace starting line-up and his all-round game has come on no end.
A brace in Sunday's 5-2 thrashing of West Ham means he has six goals in eight games under Oliver Glasner.
Scoring against Newcastle at Selhurst Park tonight would take him to 10 Premier League goals in a single season for the first time.
This story is from the April 24, 2024 edition of Evening Standard.
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This story is from the April 24, 2024 edition of Evening Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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