Jean-Philippe Mateta revealed that a tactical change up front helped Crystal Palace to put on a more attacking display against Liverpool.
Speaking with the media post-match, he said the home side made a switch after 30 minutes to bolster their efforts up front, and that this enabled their resurgent efforts in the second-half.
“The first-half, in the first 30 minutes, I was alone,” Mateta said. “After we put [Odsonne] Edouard behind me and it that’s why the second-half was much better… Second-half we finished much better than the first-half.”
The forward’s teammate Edouard explained another aspect of Palace’s changes on Sunday afternoon, saying: “The coach spoke at half-time and we knew we had 45 minutes to change the game and tried to score the first one. We scored and after we kept pushing.”
It was Mateta’s selfless play in the 55th-minute that saw Palace pull a goal back against Liverpool as they sought to return from 2-0 down.
Mateta looked back on the goal, explaining his thought process and how he feels currently at Palace: “I wanted to score but the best solution for me is to give it to Edouard and for Edouard to finish.
“Before I didn’t play and now I’m playing and I’m improving every day in training, on the pitch at the weekend and that’s good for me.”
Finally, Edouard shared the positives he’s taking from a determined clash:
“I feel disappointed because we lost today. But I’m proud of the team because I thought we played well. We didn’t give up so it was good for the squad.
“I think it was positive, especially the second-half, we played well, pressed higher, played more aggressively and scored.
“We just have to keep working, keep working and try to win the next game.”
