Gareth Southgate will have the majority of his Euro 2024 squad fixed in his mind but the late-season performances of Adam Wharton and Eberechi Eze might just make the England manager pause for thought.
Along with hat-trick hero Jean-Philippe Mateta and Michael Olise, who is eligible for England but would prefer to represent France, the Crystal Palace pair ran rings around Aston Villa as Oliver Glasner’s men rounded off the season in style.
Aston Villa may be playing Champions League football next season, but it was Mateta, Olise, Wharton and Eze who looked like they would belong at that level. Mateta now has 13 goals in as many games.
It was lucky for Villa they arrived at Selhurst Park with their top-four finish secure as this was a woeful performance in front of co-owner Nassef Sawiris, perhaps their worst under Unai Emery. Even allowing for their long injury list, Villa’s early-season form is a distant memory and Emery has work to do in pre-season to reset and refocus his squad.
Villa’s priority before June 30 is likely to be player sales to ensure they comply with spending rules – otherwise players like Olise and Eze would surely be on their radar.
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a hat-trick as Crystal Palace thrashed Aston Villa on Sunday
Eberechi Eze (left) also scored twice as Oliver Glasner’s men enjoyed a dream afternoon
Adam Wharton (right) combined well with Eze (left) and Gareth Southgate may be considering including the pair in his Euro 2024 squad
Wharton, 20, started the season with Blackburn before joining Palace for an initial £14million in January and looks a midfielder of sumptuous class, while Eze is the kind of player who changes a game.
Competition for spots in Southgate’s squad is fierce and the England boss is wary of what he calls ‘recency bias’. Yet Southgate likes Eze, who would surely have had more than two England caps had he been luckier with injuries, and Wharton seems impossible to ignore.
If Palace can keep their fab four together – as well as boss Oliver Glasner – perhaps they could surprise the Premier League next season the way Villa have for most of this campaign.
The away fans arrived in party mode, waving their inflatable European Cups and even cheered when Palace scored their opening two goals, just to show how little they cared.
Emery will look at things rather differently and will have been furious with his team’s display. This has still been a fabulous season for Villa but the way they fell apart here – even with nothing to play for – will have unsettled Emery.
Throughout the first half, Olise found space between Villa’s defence and midfield and when Wharton picked him out early on, Olise slipped in Mateta, who had timed his run perfectly and fired low beyond Robin Olsen.
Olsen was in the team after Emi Martinez was left out of the squad along with Leon Bailey, who has been carrying a knee problem since Villa’s Europa Conference League clash at Lille in April. Were it not for the Olsen, Palace might have been well clear by half-time – though Villa did come close twice when the score was only 1-0.
Moussa Diaby raced on to Douglas Luiz’s lofted pass but Dean Henderson kept out his effort, and Nathaniel Clyne was quicker to the loose ball than Ollie Watkins. Shortly afterwards, Watkins headed Lucas Digne’s corner towards the far post, where Marc Guehi did well to concede a corner.
Palace always looked dangerous though and it was no surprise when they doubled their lead. Once more it was the Wharton-Olise combination at the heart of the move, as this time Olise released the overlapping Daniel Munoz and Mateta provided the first-time finish in the middle – his 12th goal in as many matches.
It could have become worse for Villa just before the interval. Diego Carlos made important blocks to thwart Tyrick Mitchell and Eberechi Eze, and Olsen did well to bail out Luiz when his poor pass led a good chance for Olise.
Mateta was in unstoppable form, with Palace putting Villa to the sword
It was a direr afternoon for Aston Villa, but they have Champions League football to look forward to next season
Having scored twice as a substitute in the 3-3 draw with Liverpool, Jhon Duran was handed a start by Unai Emery, who also included his son – goalkeeper Lander – on the bench. But Duran endured a frustrating first half in which he struggled to escape the clutches of Joachim Andersen.
Palace made the game safe early in the second half. Chris Richards’ pass took a lucky bounce off Ezri Konsa and fell perfectly for Eze, who hammered it past Olsen from 20 yards.
Olise had the Villa defence running scared. He shot wide once and had a penalty claim turned down but it was not long before Mateta completed his hat-trick. Dean Henderson’s long throw from goal found Eze and he glided past Diego Carlos and found Mateta, who side-stepped Digne and beat Olsen with ease.
Mateta had a goal ruled out for a tight offside before number five duly arrived. Eze once more cruised through Villa’s non-existent midfield, collected Mateta’s return pass and left Olsen no chance with another fearsome strike from range.
More to follow…
