Crystal Palace

Image source, Reuters

Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta continued his outstanding late-season form with a hat-trick in the Eagles' 5-0 demolition of Aston Villa on the final day of the Premier League campaign.

Since Oliver Glasner's appointment as manager, Mateta has scored 13 goals in 13 Premier League appearances - more than any other player in the top flight during that time.

That tally means Mateta, who joined Palace in January 2021, has scored more in those 13 games than he had in his previous 80 Premier League outings for the club (11 goals) - although only 33 of those 80 appearances were starts.

Mateta is averaging a goal every 80 minutes under Glasner, compared to one every 305 minutes previously for Palace.

And although he is taking, on average, the same number of shots per 90 minutes (2.3), the xG statistics suggest he is more likely to score from his shots since Glasner took charge (0.29) compared with playing under his predecessors (0.14).

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has been speaking to BBC Sport after thumping five goals past Aston Villa on the final day of the season: "It was another great performance but, to be honest, there were 10 to 15 minutes in the first half where we could have conceded, especially from set-plays.

"But, after the second goal and some small adaptations at half-time, we could see how the players are enjoying playing together and having fun on the pitch, so it was a great end to the season."

On striker Jean-Philippe Mateta: "He has a lot of confidence. He makes the runs, he works hard and he has a great finish, but he needs the support of all of his teammates."

On whether the club will be able to keep their in-form attackers Mateta, Eze and Olise: "The club is working hard so that we can keep all of the players.

"What we could do is show them that we are ambitious, the journey and the direction that they can go in, that they can express themselves and show all of their qualities.

"Crystal Palace, with these fans and this team, is a good place to stay."

Here are the key facts and figures from Sunday's game between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa in the Premier League.

• Crystal Palace have won six of their past seven Premier League games (D1), as many as they managed in their previous 30 matches in the competition (D9 L15). The Eagles have collected 24 points in 13 matches under Oliver Glasner, with only Manchester City (35), Arsenal (34) and Chelsea (28) claiming more points since the manager's first game in February.

• Aston Villa are the first side to concede 60 or more goals and finish inside the top four since Norwich in 1992-93 (65, finished third). Villa are also the first side to concede five or more goals in their first and final matches of a top-flight season since Manchester City in 1962-63.

• Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta has scored 16 Premier League goals this season - only Andrew Johnson has netted more for the Eagles across a single campaign in the competition (21 in 2004-05).

• Mateta has become just the second French player to score in seven home Premier League home appearances in a row, after Thierry Henry for Arsenal between May and October 2004.

• Mateta's hat-trick was the 14th to be scored on the final day of a Premier League season, and the first since Harry Kane's treble for Tottenham against Hull in 2016-17. It was also the first hat-trick to be scored by a Crystal Palace player at Selhurst Park in the Premier League.

• Michael Olise has been directly involved in 16 goals across just 14 starts in the Premier League this term (10 goals, six assists), only Cesc Fabregas (17 in 2016-17) has been involved in more goals across a single season in the competition having started fewer than 15 games.

Jean-Philippe Mateta struck a hat-trick while Eberechi Eze scored twice as Crystal Palace thrashed a sorry Aston Villa to finish 10th and equal their best finish in the Premier League.

The French striker scored twice before the break, and secured his hat-trick through an Eze assist.

Mateta then set up Eze for his second goal, his first having come early in the second half.

Palace end the season with an unbeaten run of seven games while Villa, having already secured fourth place, could only claim two points from a possible 12 in the final stretch.

What did you make of the game?

Palace fans - how optimistic are you for next season?, external

Villa fans - where are improvements needed before Champions League football in 2024-25?, external

Follow reaction and read the match report

The 2023-24 Premier League season might be drawing to a close, but BBC Sport's dedicated coverage of Crystal Palace will be sticking around for the summer.

From transfer gossip to club news to fan views - we have got you covered.

So make sure you don't miss anything by following your club and signing up to notifications straight to your devices.

After that, all you need to do is keep returning to your club's page throughout the summer - simple!

All 20 teams are in action on the final day of the 2023-24 Premier League season, with the title winners, European spots and one relegation place still to be confirmed.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for every Premier League game this season against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's final games of the season, he takes on Gladiators star Legend.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Crystal Palace's biggest challenge is going to be keeping hold of Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Jean-Philippe Mateta, who form such a formidable forward line.

They have helped the Eagles put together this great run of five wins and a draw from their past six games, and I think we will see more of the same on Sunday.

Aston Villa know they are in next season's Champions League, so it is job done for Unai Emery and his players.

They have probably been on the lash to celebrate since Tottenham lost against Manchester City on Tuesday, so I am going with a Palace win.

Legend's prediction: 2-1

Palace are banging the goals in and with Villa only just being confirmed in fourth, there could be that massive comedown where all that stress, anxiety, motivation and pressure comes out, and suddenly it is all gone.

Read all of Sutton's predictions for the final day of the season here

Image source, Getty Images

If you haven't done so already, you have until 10:00 BST on Wednesday, 22 May to cast your vote for Crystal Palace's player of the season from our shortlist.

The candidates have been chosen by Palace fan writer Jay Crame from The Eagles Beak.

Find out the reasons behind his selections and make your choice here

Crystal Palace and Fulham have sent scouts to watch Fiorentina's 27-year-old Morocco midfielder Sofyan Amrabat, who is on loan at Manchester United. (Sun), external

Palace, Bournemouth and Burnley are likely to be able to offer QPR defender Jake Clarke-Salter higher wages than Celtic in the battle for his signature, but the Scottish champions hope Champions League football will be enough to tempt the 26-year-old. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Saturday's full gossip column

Image source, Getty Images

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner says that the bond between wingers Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise warms his heart.

Both attackers have thrived under the Austrian's tutelage, with the Eagles winning six of their last seven games.

Before Sunday's final-day meeting with Aston Villa, Glasner explained that Eze and Olise simply love what they do.

"They stayed 30 minutes after training doing some finishing, trying some tricks," he said in his news conference on Friday.

"You can see how much they enjoy football. Loving what they do.

"Sometimes I just watch them having fun.

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League match against Aston Villa.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Midfielder Will Hughes is ruled out after sustaining an injury against Wolves last week and Glasner said: "Will is out for the last game against Aston Villa. It looked terrible on the video – in the game and on the video – but fortunately everything is OK with his ligament. He has a bone bruise and he will be out for several weeks. He should be back for pre-season, but he is out for the last game."

• Jefferson Lerma is back in contention for the match against Aston Villa: "Jefferson Lerma is fit and will come back to the squad, and all others are fit. I’m always pleased if a player comes back from injury. It’s good, but he was out for four weeks now and this was the first week of training, so he has to get back into the rhythm, but it’s good to have him back."

• Glasner says the Eagles are motivated to try and finish the season in the Premier League's top half: "I'm pleased with the performances we've had. We want to win, but Villa wants to win too. We always focus on what we can influence. If we don't do our job, we don't win, we can't be 10th. It's good motivation at home to say thank you to the fans."

• The Austrian believes the positive mood of his players can only benefit their performances: "You can see they are having fun and enjoying it. I like standing outside watching them and how much fun they have. Everyone feels well, likes to come in, in the morning, work hard and have fun together. This is crucial for their performances on the pitch."

Wolves are in the news this week for their pursuit of a vote on the scrapping of VAR.

Their wishes drew further scrutiny on Wednesday when Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon found himself in the middle of a contentious call before offering a strong view on the technology after his side went down at Manchester United.

"Modified" is the word when we are talking about VAR going to a vote.

We are still getting to grips with it, but we have seen some good come from it. There have been some instances of indifferent decisions because calls are getting too many looks at them from so many angles.

They still do not know what is a good tackle and what is not. I think they need help from some former players, who have been in that situation and understand what the differences are in those challenges.

We keep talking about different angles and that is not going to go away because with VAR or without it, on certain challenges we would still disagree. You could have two current players in a room and they still would not agree.

It is Wolves' opinion on VAR and if they feel it is not working for them, then you can understand why they are saying to have a go without it again.

Molineux boss Gary O'Neil has been very frustrated, but he has also been balanced and tried to stay quiet. Now he does not want to stay quiet because he feels it does not benefit them and decisions are not going their way.

Overall, we have seen good things from VAR, even if it does bring with it a delay and a wait.

It would be a shame now for it to all go away when we have all the technology in place.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Here are the key facts and figures before Sunday's game between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa in the Premier League.

• Crystal Palace have won more Premier League home games against Aston Villa than they have against any other opponent (seven), including six of their past eight against them at Selhurst Park.

• Following their 3-1 win against them in the reverse fixture - Aston Villa are looking to complete their first league double over Crystal Palace since 1980-81 - when they most recently won the English top-flight title.

• This will be the 12th time Crystal Palace have finished a top-flight season with a home match and they are unbeaten in their previous 11.

• Aston Villa have won just one of the 25 occasions they have finished a league season with an away game (D7 L17), with the one victory a 3-1 win against Chelsea in 2001-02.

Paris St-Germain are considering a move for Crystal Palace's 26-year-old French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. (Sun), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Image source, Reuters

Jean-Philippe Mateta is in excellent form at the moment.

The striker has scored 10 goals in his past 12 games and is arguably the most improved player since Oliver Glasner has taken charge of the Eagles.

It is his third full season at Palace but this is the first time he has been able to start a number of games back to back. He has been in every line up that Glasner has named so far and Palace are unbeaten when he is named in attack with Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze since the Austrian was appointed.

Some have wondered whether this is just a purple patch of form but the evidence shows that this could be an exciting time for Palace fans if Mateta is allowed to continue to flourish.

His hold-up play, which started to improve under Roy Hodgson, has been a big asset as Palace build attacks and his finishing is ruthless.

He has the best goals to shots ratio (36%) of any of the Premier League's top 20 strikers. His shot accuracy (72%) is second only to Phil Foden (75%) in that same list.

Mateta has two years left on his contract and the club holds an option to extend for a further year.

There are clubs across Europe interested in the front man but if the Eagles are able to hold onto Mateta, Eze and Olise, it could be an exciting season for Palace fans when August rolls in.

We asked our Crystal Palace fan contributor for their four player of the season choices and you can now vote for your top one.

Image source, Getty Images

Joachim Andersen

The first half of the season was not the best by the Dane, and he will be the first to admit it, but it is difficult to think how we would have done without him this second half of the campaign as we suffered from several defensive injuries. Not only that, but he has come into his own - just like a number of players have under Oliver Glasner.

Jefferson Lerma

The disappointment felt by Bournemouth fans on his departure from the Cherries said a lot, but now we have witnessed the Colombia international with our own eyes. He has been a superb addition, and on a free transfer. A very impressive first season in south London.

Jean-Philippe Mateta

It was difficult to explain how we felt about the Frenchman when he first joined the club. He managed to score some iconic goals along the way, but it is a struggle to name a player who has improved as much as Mateta over the past six months. His ability to hold up the ball and score goals regularly has been nothing short of miraculous!

Adam Wharton

The final choice has been so difficult to make a decision on. It could have been Eberechi Eze, even though he has missed a chunk of the season, or even Daniel Munoz, who has impressed since joining as the first proper wing-back at the club. But Wharton just edges it simply because of how much he has impressed since signing in January. That is only a short time but it says everything.

Pick your 2023-24 Crystal Palace player of the season from our shortlist here

Jay Crame can be found at The Eagles Beak, external

Image source, Getty Images

Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta believes his recent upturn in form has been down to "changing nothing, playing hard and just being ready" under new manager Oliver Glasner.

Since replacing Roy Hodgson in February, the Austrian manager has named Mateta in his starting line-up for every Premier League match, with the 26-year-old netting 10 goals in 12 games during that time.

In an interview with BBC Sport football news reporter Alex Howell, the striker revealed some of the reasons behind his current form.

"I have changed nothing. I just keep playing hard and being ready, and now they give me my chance," said Mateta.

"I just need my chance to keep playing. I know it is hard - because there is a lot of competition - but I knew when my time came I was going to prove to them that I'm the striker for Palace."

The Eagles are on a six-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, which Mateta believes is down to Glasner's winning mentality.

"He wants to win. He is a winner. He wants to win everything," he said

"When the training is not like what he wants it to be, he says: 'Come on, lads. We need to do better. We are not where we need to be. I need more from you.'

"He doesn't care about the 'big teams'. Even when we play the big teams, he says we go there to win. Against Liverpool, he said we go there for the win. Even against Manchester City, when we lost, he said: 'Guys, we are here to win.'

"He wants to win every single game - and that is what I like."

Mateta also revealed the story behind him shouting "fantastic" into the club's social media camera after every win: "It's from the second coach of Roy [Hodgson] - Ray [Lewington].

"When Ray would do meetings he would say: 'This is fantastic, lads.' I always say it in training to the goalkeeping coaches, Dean Kiely and Paddy [McCarthy], for fun and they are laughing at this.

"I just like it when the atmosphere is good around the dressing room. We do the best job in the world - you can't be sad or angry all the time.

"Yes, when you lose, it's OK. But when you are with your team-mates or the gaffer, for me the atmosphere has to be good."

Michael Olise is a statistical outlier and a match-winner. Unsurprisingly, this isn't a new development.

His debut season in the Premier League was encouraging, with two goals and five assists. Yet, if there was a fear that his substitute appearances and limited minutes distorted his 90-minute contributions, that fear never materialised.

Olise has continued to increase his production year after year. Last season, he exceeded ten assists. In this, he stands at ten goals, in the equivalent of only 13.2 full matches.

There has been no easing back into form, even in an injury-hit season. Against players in his position, he currently stands in the 98th percentile for goals, 92nd for shots on target and 96th for shot-creating actions.

Nor has this been isolated to his time in south London. The then-teenager arrived from Reading off the back of a double-digit assist tally in the Championship, where he was already entrusted with the responsibility of taking set pieces.

So, what makes Olise different? With the speed of his development and the lack of any obvious growing pains or long barren spells, he's been a consistent threat for the entirety of his senior career - a true rarity within the sport.

English academy football produces many rough diamonds and ball-carriers, some of whom have their youth highlights lauded on social media before kicking a ball at a senior level. Olise has his highlight moments, too, but there's the sense that it's just a by product of his route to goal rather than an expression of flair or for attention. It's a means to an end.

On Saturday, Olise dismantled Wolverhampton Wanderers. What's remarkable is that for him, it wasn't even exceptional.

Alex Pewter, FYP podcast, external