- Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice as Crystal Palace ran out 2-0 victors
- Graham Potter suffered a first league defeat since taking over as Hammers boss
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Are Everton where they deserve to be or are the club’s fans delusional?
What would Graham Potter give for a striker like Jean-Philippe Mateta?
As the new West Ham boss once again started without a recognised front man on the pitch, it was the Palace assassin who put on a masterclass of centre-forward play.
Mateta scored both goals at the London Stadium, one from the penalty spot, to make it four in his last three games and wrap up this most straightforward of wins to send Palace up to 12th in the table.
He almost set up Eddie Nketiah for another with a splitting through ball and drew both fouls from Konstantinos Mavropanos that earned the West Ham defender two yellow cards and an early bath.
How Potter must long for his bosses to sign a focal point like him this month as he watched his side register not a single shot on target while, for Palace boss Oliver Glasner, how pleased he must be to have him leading the way.
‘Jean-Philippe alone couldn’t score goals,’ said Palace boss Oliver Glasner. ‘He needs players around him who can give him the ball but then when he gets it in the right areas, and this is what we are working day by day with the whole team, then we know that he is an amazing finisher.’
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice as Crystal Palace earned a 2-0 victory over West Ham
Mateta scored his second from the penalty spot as Palace earned a deserved 2-0 win
Graham Potter was helpless as he slipped to a first league defeat as Hammers manager
It was Mateta who forced an early save from Lukasz Fabianski as their new £14million signing Romain Esse from Millwall watched on from the stands.
Potter had switched to a back three to match Palace’s system but that stalemate led to one of the dullest first halves the London Stadium has seen in recent times – and they have seen many.
Palace took the lead three minutes into the second half. Eberechi Eze played in Mateta, who ran at Max Kilman while the Hammers defender backed off until the Palace striker drilled the ball past Lukasz Fabianski.
Just before his goal, Mateta nutmegged Mavropanos and drew a foul and a yellow card. With 10 minutes to go, Mavropanos caught him with a high boot and was shown another.
While all the talk is about West Ham’s lack of strikers, Potter has just as big a problem to solve in defence.
The club spent £55million on Kilman and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the summer and have conceded more goals than all-but three sides in the division.
Mavropanos is now suspended for the trip to Aston Villa while Jean-Clair Todibo remains injured and Potter admitted the club may have to sign another.
‘We’ve got a few challenges to fix,’ said Potter. ‘We’ve got some options and, of course, we’re always looking for options to help the team.’
West Ham’s midfield struggled against the energy that Palace showed throughout the game
West Ham failed to register a single shot on target in the defeat as Palace outclassed the hosts
Mateta displayed all the skills that the modern day centre forward must master to score goals
West Ham defender Konstantinos Mavropanos (right) was sent off for a second bookable foul on Mateta
Potter switched to a back four but it didn’t help. Fabianski brought down Nketiah in the box late on and then let Mateta’s penalty squirm under his body.
‘You’re getting sacked in the morning,’ crowed the Palace fans.
Potter might not be in danger of that quite yet but, after victory over Fulham, this was a fine example of how managing West Ham can quickly bring you crashing back down to earth.
