Aston Villa 3-1 Crystal Palace: Mateta Hat-Trick Earns Palace Victory
Match Report
Crystal Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a brilliant hat-trick as Roy Hodgson's side claimed a deserved 3-1 victory over Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Mateta opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a clinical finish after being played through on goal by Wilfried Zaha. The Frenchman then doubled Palace's lead in the 32nd minute with a powerful header from Jordan Ayew's cross.
Olsen's Penalty Save
Aston Villa pulled a goal back in the 55th minute when Ollie Watkins converted a penalty after Tyrick Mitchell was adjudged to have fouled Leon Bailey in the box. However, Mateta restored Palace's two-goal advantage just six minutes later with a composed finish.
The win lifts Crystal Palace up to 11th in the Premier League table, while Aston Villa remain in 14th.
Post-Match Reaction
"I'm very happy for Jean-Philippe," said Hodgson. "He's been working hard all season and he deserves his goals. He's a great talent and I'm sure he'll continue to score goals for us."
"We're disappointed with the result," said Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard. "We didn't play well enough in the first half and we paid the price. We need to learn from our mistakes and move on."
Comments