West Ham United 0-2 Crystal Palace: Jean-Philippe Mateta's brace earns Eagles win against Hammers

Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice in the second half to guide Crystal Palace to a 2-0 away win over a lackluster West Ham United on Saturday, highlighting the challenges facing new manager Graham Potter in his east London tenure.

Palace’s first goal came early in the second half after a quick counterattack. Eberechi Eze’s pass found Mateta, who calmly slotted the ball into the net. Mateta sealed the win with a penalty late in the game after Konstantinos Mavropanos was sent off for a high boot to Mateta’s face, receiving a second yellow card with 10 minutes to go.

The result saw Palace climb to 12th place in the Premier League table with 27 points from 22 games, just ahead of West Ham, who sit 14th with 26 points. West Ham struggled throughout, failing to register a single shot on target and looking devoid of creativity as Palace comfortably shut them down.

Palace, unbeaten in their last seven away games, have now gone 11 matches with just one loss. They also ended a 13-match winless run in London derbies, their last victory in such encounters coming against West Ham in November 2022.

The first half was a largely uneventful affair, with Palace's best chance coming from Mateta, whose fierce shot from a tight angle was well saved by 39-year-old goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

However, Palace broke the deadlock just three minutes into the second half. After a swift team move, Mateta finished the attack with a composed strike. West Ham, in response, introduced young midfielders Lewis Orford and Ollie Scarles, but the hosts continued to lack any real threat in the final third.

The best chance for West Ham came in the 70th minute when Danny Ings’ shot was blocked, but that was as close as they came to troubling Palace's defense. Matters worsened when Mavropanos was sent off, and a minute from full-time, Fabianski fouled Eddie Nketiah, resulting in a penalty for Palace. Mateta's low shot squirmed under Fabianski's body and into the net, sealing a convincing win for the visitors.

SportsLigue