3 hours ago
23
Eddie Nketiah discovered the significance of his dramatic late winner against Liverpool once he reached the Crystal Palace changing room.
He opened his bag, grabbed his phone, and found himself greeted by numerous congratulatory messages on his lock screen. When questioned whether they originated from the Arsenal camp, Nketiah revealed about his former club: "I had a few thank you messages to be honest. Yeah, a couple of the staff messaged me, but I'm fully focused on life here and want to do well and help the team as much as possible."
Grinning broadly, Nketiah quickly confirmed none of the messages came from Mikel Arteta. The decisive injury-time goal ensures Palace remains the sole undefeated team in the Premier League this campaign.
Moreover, the Eagles have now extended their unbeaten streak to 18 matches across all competitions since their previous loss, equalling a club-record run established back in 1969. The 26-year-old insists the remarkable sequence wouldn't have been achievable without FA Cup-winning manager Oliver Glasner.
Speaking about the Austrian, he commented: "He's amazing. I think he's created a really good group, a really good togetherness in the group. I feel like we're all fighting; we all want to push and do well.
"It's a really nice environment and a good place for young players to improve and develop, that's what you want to do, work every day and achieve great things together."
The Eagles had been left frustrated by their lack of decisiveness when Federico Chiesa appeared to have secured a draw for Liverpool with mere minutes remaining.
Palace battered Liverpool throughout the first half, and on a different day, the London team might have established a six-goal cushion were it not for Alisson's exceptional goalkeeping and Jean-Philippe Mateta's struggles in front of goal.
Nketiah insists the Eagles were confident they could trouble the champions, stating: "We believed that we could hurt them. We showed in the Community Shield that we had chances and that we can create chances against anyone.
"We were really confident going into the game, we knew it was going to be tough, but I think we showed the quality we have and that was a really strong performance."
As the Reds intensified their efforts in pursuit of a late equalizer, Eagles skipper Marc Guehi rose to the occasion and once more defended with distinction. His composed performance at the center of Glasner's defence served as another stark reminder to Liverpool of his exceptional ability.
Nketiah praised his captain: "He's top. I think Marc's qualities on the pitch speak for themselves, but off the pitch, he's really important for the team. He's a really good captain, a really good leader. We're happy to have him here and happy that he's here contributing.
"We've got no questions about Marc's focus or determination - he's proved that throughout his career. We're happy to have him here and hopefully he can keep helping us this season."
Palace's attention now turns to a European journey to Poland, where the team will meet Dynamo Kyiv. Nketiah believes Palace has the conviction to achieve something extraordinary and progress deep into the Conference League.
He went on to say: "Every competition we enter, our aim is to try and win it. Obviously, it's a really good opportunity for us, playing in Europe for the team's first time, and having a European night here is going to be amazing. We want to keep working, keep progressing and hopefully we can deliver another trophy to the fans. That's what they deserve."
English (US) ·