Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice in Crystal Palace’s emphatic 5-2 victory over West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday, highlighted by a stunning bicycle kick from Eberechi Eze within the first 31 minutes of the match. Positioned 14th in the league, Palace now sit comfortably 11 points clear of the relegation zone, while West Ham hold the eighth spot with 48 points, closely trailing Newcastle and Manchester United who are tied at 50 points with two games in hand.
The scoring spree began with Michael Olise in the seventh minute, quickly followed by an impressive goal from Eze that sent the Selhurst Park crowd into cheers. Despite a resilient save by West Ham’s goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski from a Mateta shot, the ball fortuitously fell to Eze, who blasted it into the net.
An own goal by Emerson further compounded West Ham’s troubles in the 20th minute before Mateta’s first goal in the 31st minute extended the lead to 4-0, prompting a visibly frustrated response from West Ham manager David Moyes. This marked the quickest a Moyes-coached team had ever fallen four goals behind in his 693 Premier League games.
West Ham managed a brief comeback with Michail Antonio scoring in the 40th minute, but Mateta’s second goal in the 64th minute widened the gap once again. A late mishap by Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson led to an own goal in the 89th minute, credited to defender Tyrick Mitchell, though the fault lay with Henderson.
Throughout the game, Palace dominated with 18 shots, seven on target, against West Ham’s four, and controlled 61.3% of the possession.
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