‘A nice moment’: Nketiah delighted with first league goal for Palace
Eddie Nketiah was delighted to cap Crystal Palace’s dominant display against Aston Villa with his first Premier League goal for the club.
As the clocked ticked into injury time, the summer signing from Arsenal – who had previously scored twice in the Carabao Cup – made a poacher’s run to get onto the end of Tyrick Mitchell’s low ball and stab home a first goal at Selhurst Park as a Palace player.
A 4-1 win under the Selhurst Park lights was Palace’s first in the league in the calendar year of 2025, sealed by such a fantastic result.
“It’s nice to get the win and get my first one in the Premier League [for Palace],” the No. 9 smiled. “It’s a good feeling, and nice to obviously share that moment with my family and friends and teammates, so I'm really delighted.
“[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.
“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.
“It’s nice to obviously have an effect, win at home and kind of put that little losing run at home to bed.”
On what manager Oliver Glasner said to him before coming on late in the second-half, Nketiah revealed: “Just to try and come on and affect the game, and hopefully decide the game.
“Obviously I didn't get long, but yeah, it was nice to get on the pitch and obviously a great cross from T [Mitchell] and a nice tap-in.
“[The dressing room] is buzzing. The music's bouncing. Everyone's happy, as you expect, obviously, after a win, so it's a really nice moment for all of us.”
As for his hopes of forcing his way into Palace’s starting XI after the landmark goal, Nketiah said: “I can't influence the manager's decision in terms of selection, but I try to do it on every day in the grass by working hard.
“Obviously, I would like to play more minutes, but that's life. The team have been doing well and I’ve just got to keep doing my thing when I get opportunities. Like I said, hopefully I can go on a nice run now.”