Crystal Palace secured a resounding 5-0 victory over Aston Villa thanks to a hat-trick from Jean-Philippe Mateta, which helped the team achieve their best-ever 10th-place and 49-point Premier League finish.
Mateta’s impressive performance saw him become the second-ever Palace player to score a hat-trick in a Premier League game, and the first to do so at Selhurst Park.
Jean-Philippe Mateta opened the scoring nine minutes into the game and added another before halftime. Although he had a fourth goal disallowed in the second half, Eberechi Eze’s two goals put the game beyond Villa’s reach.
The result saw Palace achieve their highest-ever goal tally of 57, which was a significant improvement on their attacking form earlier in the season.
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While Villa had little to celebrate, one exception was the inclusion of Unai Emery’s goalkeeper son, Lander, on the substitutes bench for the final game of the season.
Lerma and Guehi were back in the game as Glasner named his squad for the day. Lerma had been out for a month, while Guehi made his first start since February.
Dean Henderson made an early save by punching away Douglas Luiz’s cross free-kick within the first five minutes of the game. Minutes later, Mateta scored for Palace, extending their club-record hot streak by sweeping past Robin Olsen after receiving a short pass from Olise.
Henderson once again made an excellent save to deny Moussa Diaby with an outstretched arm, and Diaby’s next attempt was off target. Ollie Watkins tried his luck next but missed the target.
The Villa goalkeeper was helpless as Mateta scored by tapping in a great pass from Munoz just before halftime. Olsen managed to touch a shot from Olise towards the ened of the first half, preventing his team from conceding another goal.
Eze scored the third goal for his team in the second half by shooting past the goalkeeper from outside the box. Eze and Olise are highly sought-after players who might leave Palace in the upcoming transfer window.
Olise came close to proving his worth again, narrowly missing a shot that could have put the game beyond reach. Mateta secured the fourth goal for the hosts by capitalizing on Eze’s cutback.
Eze completed his brace in the 69th minute with a low finish just outside the 18-yard box, with Mateta providing the assist.
Glasner made his first substitutions, with Lerma and Odsonne Edouard coming in for Guehi and Mateta respectively.
