English-born Ghanaian forward Eddie Nketiah has expressed his joy after scoring his first Premier League goal for Crystal Palace in their commanding 4-1 victory over Aston Villa.
The 26-year-old came off the bench to round off the scoring for the Eagles, marking his long-awaited breakthrough in the league after 19 appearances for the club.
“It’s nice to get the win and get my first one in the Premier League [for Palace],” Nketiah said after the match. “It’s a good feeling, and nice to obviously share that moment with my family and friends and teammates, so I’m really delighted.”
He also revealed the instructions from manager Oliver Glasner at halftime. “[The manager said] at half-time to keep going. Obviously, we had moments, obviously slight tactical tweaks we had to make, but yeah, it was really just to be decisive and ruthless in the boxes. I think we defended really well at most times and limited them, but we had chances we didn’t probably take in the first half.”
Reflecting on the team’s performance, Nketiah praised their resilience and efficiency in front of goal. “I thought it was a good performance, first and second half. Obviously, we reacted really well when they [Villa] did score, but I think it was a really dominant performance. Obviously, we missed a few chances in the first half, but we were really clinical in the second half. It was just about being clinical in the second half—and we were able to do that.”
The forward was also pleased that the win ended Palace’s poor home run. “It’s nice to obviously have an effect, win at home, and kind of put that little losing run at home to bed,” he added.
