Mateta played the first 45 minutes on Thursday (Picture: Getty)
Jean-Philippe Mateta’s half-time substitution against Dynamo Kiev was pre-planned with no new injury concerns over the Crystal Palace striker.
Palace got their Europa Conference League campaign off to a perfect start with a 2-0 win over the Ukrainian giants in Lublin on Thursday night, extending a record run of 19 games undefeated.
Nketiah came on as a half-time substitute to replace Mateta.
Mateta has been ever-present in the Palace starting XI this season, playing the full 90 minutes in four of their six Premier League games, coming off late on in the remaining two.
The French striker also played the full games against Millwall in the Carabao Cup and Europa qualifiers against Fredrikstad back in August.
Glasner recently warned his star striker was feeling the effects of a busy start to the season, admitting he ‘needs a break’ as Palace’s season picks up pace.
Mateta has played virtually every minute so far this season (Picture: Getty Images)
And the German coach explained last night the decision to replace him midway through the game was made with one eye firmly on this weekend’s clash with Everton, having also been able to manage the minutes of Ismaili Sarr and new signing Yeremy Pino.
‘I’m proud that we could start the Conference League away against a very good opponent,’ Glasner said in his post-match press conference.
‘I don’t think about this [unbeaten] run, because it has already happened, so for me it is important what comes next, and next comes Everton, and their new stadium.
Palace head to Everton on Saturday (Picture: Getty)
‘We are really looking forward to this game, a great atmosphere, a great stadium, they are in very good shape.
‘We could do everything today we planned to do: it was planned to play JP [Mateta] one half and Eddie Nketiah one half, it was planned to play Daichi [Kamada] and Yeremy about 60 minutes, and play Justin [Deveny] and Isma [Sarr] about 30, that everybody stays in shape, stays in rhythm.
‘It was not planned, but I think he deserved it: it was the debut of Rio Cardines today, a young player who deserved it.
‘The players know I don’t give gifts. Minutes are not gifts, you have to deserve it, and he deserved it, so today was the right moment.
In a 2016 interview, Granit Xhaka infamously revealed that while growing up in Switzerland, he was once given a probably premature gift for a boy in kindergarten by parents Eli and Ragip — his own set of keys for the Xhaka family home. Granit does, in fact, have an older brother by one year named Taulant, but Taulant wasn’t handed such a privilege.
To Xhaka’s parents, Granit was the older and wiser of the two brothers, ready for the responsibility.
And that word, ‘responsibility’, has come to define 33 year old Granit Xhaka’s illustrious career.
Monchengladbach captain at just 22, Arsenal captain, Switzerland captain, even made Sunderland captain just two weeks after his arrival, Granit is now bringing his famous ‘fine, I’ll do it myself’ mindset back to the Premier League in style; so far assisting the winner against Brentford, the equaliser against Villa and the winner against Forest to win 7 points for a Sunderland side sitting 5th in red hot form.
Manchester United will be hoping Xhaka’s proverbial keys go missing as they face Sunderland this weekend. Not only for the football problems, as rumours swirl it represents D-Day for Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United career, but also because Granit in particular presses on a few of their bruises.
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It’s maybe too simplistic to ask why United didn’t sign Xhaka themselves, but we should ask. United were clearly pursuing a midfielder, and as well as being a steal at £13m + £4m in add-ons, Xhaka comes in as a Premier League proven Bundesliga trophy winner, well-versed in a (successful) 3-4-3 system.
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If he’s making a Premier League return it would have made sense, and although transfers are never that simple, after a start where WhoScored have rated Xhaka as the best performing midfielder in the Premier League so far, United may rue a missed opportunity.
Because the fact is, Xhaka’s on-ball qualities would suit them.
Manchester United have a problem getting the ball into dangerous positions with regularity. In terms of the volume of progressive passes they play, they are third overall in the Premier League, with Bruno Fernandes nearly league-leading as an individual. This is potentially encouraging — but when we look at where the majority of United’s touches actually come, we see the problem.
United’s opponents dominate the most vulnerable areas all too often, with United getting an average of only 34% of the total match touches outside their opponent’s D each match (Zone 14). This is far behind other European hopefuls including Chelsea (40%), Tottenham (44%), and Aston Villa (47%). United’s preference is, of course, to use their wide rotations and their wing backs while underloading the centre of the pitch, but with a group of midfielders who are neither the most athletic nor technically gifted, they’re often stuck without access to the best areas of the pitch.
You could point to somewhat impressive xG numbers, also third in the league at this early stage, but as any fan will tell you, United struggle to create consistent momentum and “waves” of attacks, with a real lack of on-ball quality from central areas from the likes of Ugarte and Casemiro, then only compounded further by Amorim’s reluctance to use Kobbie Mainoo. United need someone willing to take charge.
Xhaka may not be the most athletic, but he is the antithesis of United’s predictable wide-play — his brand of passing both incisive and inventive. Many of the 204 progressive passes he played for Bayer Leverkusen in the 24/25 season ended centrally — something United could learn from.
Having someone willing and able to access those dangerous areas on the ball, while still usually underloaded as one of the midfield 2 in a 3-4-3 as Xhaka showed under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, is crucial.
Granit Xhaka has had a massive impact at Sunderland since returning to the Premier League (Picture: Getty)
But there’s an emotional aspect to football decision-making, as well as a technical and athletic one. Xhaka may be an inspiration to solve United’s on-field issues, but he can also inspire them off it.
Xhaka has had his critics over the years, and at times rightly so. He has been where United are, so to speak. But fans of Leverkusen, Arsenal and Mönchengladbach would probably say the same thing about him — he never hides.
You know Xhaka is playing. Black Cats legend Kevin Phillips spoke on talkSPORT this week about Xhaka, saying: “I think Granit Xhaka has been an inspirational signing on and off the pitch as well from what I’m hearing. What he’s like in and around the training ground, setting standards.”
And the same can’t be said of his opponents on Saturday. People speak about a leadership gap at United, players looking lethargic and lost… but one of the biggest aspects of leadership is an example. A standard for others players to follow.
At the moment, to me, this is a Man United team without a coach on the pitch. Conte, Glasner & Alonso have proved a 3-4-3 can work at the top level; it’s not about the system, it’s about behaviours. Staying compact, getting in shape, getting to your marker, tracking the runner. That’s what defines a system.
Perhaps Xhaka himself wasn’t the right move for United. His age profile alone would cause some concern, and athletically there would be some question marks for a team looking to play more expansive football and challenge for Europe. But it’s the behaviours, doing the right things every day, leading by example, demanding more of his teammates, taking responsibility on the pitch and off it… that are worth their weight in gold.
Never hiding is what has, ultimately, turned Xhaka’s career around.
A man who is handed house keys at five years old is a man worth following, and if United are to come back from this eternal, increasingly unsalvageable plughole swirling, on Saturday, they need only look to the side in the tunnel and ask what they can learn from him. United are in a tough spot — but this is a man who has been there, done that, got the armband and thrown it on the floor… then turned it around.
Ruben Amorim’s squad will be boosted in the summer (Picture: Getty Images)
Manchester United have signed teenage prospect Cristian Orozco, with the midfield talent set to arrive at Old Trafford next summer.
The 17-year-old will move to England from Colombian side Fortaleza CEIF in July when he has turned 18.
The defensive midfielder has been capped by Colombia up to Under-17 level, captaining his country in age range football.
Orozco played in the Colombia side that reached the final of the South American Under-17 Championship over the summer, losing to Brazil on penalties in the final.
The deal is reportedly worth $1m (£740,800), with the Red Devils hoping they have secured a bargain and a star of the future.
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Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano confirmed on his YouTube channel: ‘The confirmation of the deal agreed for Manchester United. Save the name, because it’s a talent for Manchester United. The name is Cristian Orozco, coming from Fortaleza, Colombian midfielder. It’s a Here We Go!
‘The deal is signed. All documents have been approved, all documents have been signed. Manchester United are convinced they have found a gem with this player.’
Diego Leon joined Manchester United this year (Picture: Getty Images)
Orozco will not be the first bright young talent Manchester United have snapped up in recent times, clearly looking to sign prospects before they leave their first clubs, so getting them as cheaply as possible.
Mali finished third in the Under-17 World Cup and Manchester United beat plenty of competition to sign him, but he too is yet to play a first team game.
Manchester United have also looked closer to home in signing up young stars in recent years, bringing in Chido Obi and Ayden Heaven from Arsenal, both of whom have featured in the top flight under Amorim.
Will Mikel Arteta have to overcome his own fans this season? (Picture: Getty Images)
Arsenal fans will be ‘silly’ and get nervous if they are challenging for silverware late in the season, putting more pressure on the team, reckons Joe Cole.
Gabriel Martinelli was on the scoresheet again, before Bukayo Saka came off the bench to score a late second.
Mikel Arteta’s side showed their strength in depth again, as the Spaniard was able to bring on the likes of Saka, Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze and Jurrien Timber as substitutes.
Second in the Premier League table and with two wins from two Champions League outings, Cole sees Arsenal challenging to win both competitions, given the amount of quality in the squad.
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The difficulty will be dealing with the relentless pressure games at the business end of the season and he has warned Arsenal fans that they could hinder the team when it really counts.
‘I just think looking all round at Arsenal, you look at the full-backs coming in, [Ben] White and [Myles] Lewis-Skelly. The two centre-halves they’ve got on the bench, pushing the two boys there,’ Cole said on TNT Sports.
Bukayo Saka came off the bench to score Arsenal’s second (Picture: Getty Images)
‘Everything about the club, young players who are hungry, who are important to have to drive the group. They’ve got all the ingredients now, there’s no excuses now.
‘If you could fast forward to April/May and Arsenal are still in the Champions League, which I think they will be, the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and they’re still chasing the league. That’s the time they’ll trip themselves up, if they’ve not developed, because they’ve got to be able to work out how to compete every three days with the pressure.
‘And the fans do this silly thing where they start getting nervous, because it’s been such a long time.
‘They’ve got to really find a way, Arsenal, at the back end of the season, because there’s no doubt they’ll be there with the quality they’ve got.’
It would be very understandable for Arsenal fans to be nervous in a close title race (Picture: Getty Images)
Arsenal have a string of matches to come in London, hosting West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday before making the short trip to face Fulham after the international break on October 18.
They return with three home games on the spin against Atletico Madrid, Crystal Palace and Brighton in the Champions League, Premier League and Carabao Cup respectively.
Commenting on the impressive strength in depth and competition for places in his squad, Arteta said after the win on Wednesday: ‘Yeah, with all respect, last season we were looking and we had five academy players there that probably never played professional football in the Champions League, so yeah, it makes a difference.
‘Today we decided to change six players, I think it was, because I want everybody to really be involved and feel part of it, and it was great and we had the feeling as well that physically we were dropping because we played a really intense match in Newcastle a few days ago.
‘The ones that came in, again, they lifted the level and they helped us to win the game, and that’s great.’
On the result against the Greek side, he added: ‘Well, very happy, obviously winning the Champions League is always very complicated, keeping another clean sheet, we make something like 11 in 14 games, which is remarkable from the boys.’
Jose Mourinho’s Benfica were beaten by Chelsea (Picture: Sky Sports)
Jose Mourinho has heaped praise on Chelsea summer signing Estevao Willian, insisting he has ‘great potential’ and is already ‘playing at the highest level’.
The Blues saw off competition from several clubs to sign Estevao, who is rated as one of the most promising young players in the world and has been compared with his compatriot Neymar.
Chelsea paid an initial £29m to sign the 18-year-old but the overall fee could rise to just under £50m if various add-ons are met.
Estevao featured for Palmeiras at the Club World Cup over the summer before finally moving to Stamford Bridge in August ahead of the 2025-26 season.
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Enzo Maresca has opted to start Estevao in four of Chelsea’s six Premier League games so far this season and the teenager made his Champions League debut as a second-half substitute in Tuesday’s win over Benfica.
‘Estevao is a talent,’ new Benfica boss Mourinho, who suffered a 1-0 defeat on his return to Stamford Bridge, told TNT Sports Brazil.
Estevao Willian in action against Jose Mourinho’s Benfica (Picture: Getty)
‘People might have thought he would take time to adapt because of his youth, inexperience and the competition he has at Chelsea.
‘But he arrived, is playing at the highest level and is a player with great potential.’
Estevao’s bright start to life at Stamford Bridge has also attracted praise from Chelsea hero Dennis Wise, who believes he could be the club’s ‘next superstar’.
‘He’s only young, and there’s still a long way to go, but he’s already shown what he’s capable of,’ Wise told Sky Bet.
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‘As a Brazilian international, he’s even scored his first goal for his country, which is a huge milestone at such an early stage of his career.
‘He looks every bit like a little superstar in the making. That said, he still has to prove himself on a regular basis.
‘At Chelsea, he’s got competition for his spot, so he’s got to hold that place, and make sure he’s constantly the main man in the team.
‘He’s got fantastic ability – it’s just about consistency, week in, week out. He’s also got to keep ahead of the individuals sitting behind him, waiting to get into the team, because they’ve got a lot of talent too.
‘He’s a great talent and he’ll have a massive impact on the Premier League. We’re all excited, especially because he’s only 18 years old.
‘To be doing so much at such a young age is fantastic – but he’s got to keep it going.’
Arne Slot’s side were beaten in Turkey as Victor Osimhen’s penalty in the 16th minute sealed Galatasaray’s win.
Ekitike, meanwhile, was forced off in the 68th minute with a hamstring injury and is now an early doubt for Liverpool’s Premier League match away to Chelsea on Saturday.
‘He felt something when he had to reach for the ball,’ Slot said after Liverpool’s defeat.
‘I think we all know which one it was when we were trying to force something.
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Hugo Ekitike believes his hamstring issue against Galatasaray was cramp (Getty)
‘I think at that moment in time, on the other side there was someone on the floor as well, so the referee blew his whistle and I wasn’t even thinking we had an injury, but Hugo felt something.
‘After the game, that’s always the difficult thing with these moments when players feel like it is not too bad, but when you just walk around it is something different than when you make a sprint or have to shoot on target. He said he couldn’t continue so we had to take him off. Let’s see how he is for the weekend.’
However, The Athletic’s James Pearce reported from RAMS Park after the game that Ekitike was not overly concerned with his hamstring issue.
‘Hugo Ekitike confident he only had cramp in his hamstring rather than anything more serious,’ Pearce wrote on X.
Ekitike, who has scored four goals in all competitions this season, is now expected to undergo a scan to assess the extent of his injury ahead of Liverpool’s visit to Chelsea this weekend.
Mourinho was back on his old stomping ground (Picture: Getty Images)
Jose Mourinho named Malo Gusto as the Chelsea star who was struggling to the point where Enzo Maresca had to replace him in the Champions League victory over Benfica.
Chelsea sealed a 1-0 victory over the Portuguese giants on Tuesday night in west London on what turned out to be a frustrating night for Mourinho with an own goal from Richard Rios the difference.
The France international played 81 minutes before he was replaced by James as Chelsea held on to a narrow lead to seal their first win in Europe this season.
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But the former Blues believed Gusto had struggled throughout the game.
Gusto was replaced after 81 minutes (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I’ve tried to play fresh people, I try to play a second striker, I try to play a new left winger,’ Mourinho said in his post-match press conference.
‘I saw Malo Gusto in difficulties. But then Maresca has Malo Gusto in difficulties so he change for a better player than Malo Gusto.
‘This is Chelsea’s squad that allows them to do that.
Maresca has limited options at the back ahead of the weekend (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I’m there for 10 days, I play four matches in 10 days so everything was travel, play, recovery, play, recover, play, travel, so there is not much time for development. But today I liked the performance very much.’
Chelsea have major problems at the back ahead of their weekend clash with Liverpool with Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana ruled out along with long-term absentee Levi Colwill.
Trevoh Chalobah will serve a suspension after his red card against Brighton with 19-year-old Josh Acheampong and Benoit Badiashile Maresca’s only available centre-halves.
