Crystal Palace
Mateta header seals Palace 1-0 win as Eze misses European debut
Mateta’s 54th-minute header secured a 1-0 win for Palace in the Conference League play-off first leg
Crystal Palace began their first major European campaign with a 1-0 victory over Fredrikstad at Selhurst Park in the opening leg of their Conference League play-off.
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the decisive goal in the 54th minute after Fredrikstad failed to clear a Borna Sosa throw-in. The ball fell to Will Hughes, whose shot brought the chance; Mateta guided the effort into the net to give the hosts their first European goal of the season.
Eberechi Eze was absent from the team sheet, with reports that he is edging closer to completing a £60million move to Arsenal. Oliver Glasner had initially insisted Eze would start, but told Channel 5 before the contest that the 27-year-old had phoned him on Thursday morning to say he did not feel well. Justin Devenny replaced Eze and was involved in early attempts to create opportunities for Ismaila Sarr.
Marc Guehi captained the side and was handed a place in the starting line-up amid continued links to Liverpool. The contest was not a runaway in Palace’s favour; the hosts only created their first clear chance after roughly 15 minutes when Guehi nodded over from Jefferson Lerma’s long throw.
Palace enjoyed periods of control and fashioned several opportunities. Mateta tested keeper Martin Borsheim earlier, Lerma volleyed goalwards, and Adam Wharton fired a low effort through traffic. Mateta later struck the post with a deflected attempt from distance. After the goal, Daniel Munoz came close to a second when his header hit the outside of the right post. Odsonne Edouard saw a strike blocked by a black shirt and Lerma nodded wide. In stoppage time Henrik Skogvold shot just past Dean Henderson’s far post for Fredrikstad.
Palace had expected Europa League participation after lifting the FA Cup in May, but a demotion to the Conference League followed UEFA’s findings on multi-club ownership and the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s rejection of their appeal. Supporters made their displeasure clear during the tie with a banner reading “UEFA Mafia” and chants aimed at UEFA and Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis.
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace turn to a new manager after Sage exit
Crystal Palace have moved on from Pierre Sage after 16 games, with Thomas Frank now the leading candidate.
Crystal Palace have dismissed Pierre Sage after only 16 games in charge at Selhurst Park, bringing an end to a brief and troubled spell that made him the second Premier League manager to depart following Michael Carrick’s exit from Manchester United.
Sage had tried to steady the mood after Palace’s seventh league defeat in 10 matches, saying: “Today, my job is not the most important thing,” Sage insisted immediately after Palace’s seventh league loss in 10 games. “The most important thing is to find an efficient solution for the team and club.” Palace have now decided that a change in the dugout is the answer.
The campaign has been a difficult one in south London. After the two most trophy-laden seasons in the club’s history, Sage was unable to build on the platform left by Oliver Glasner. Even the victories Palace managed were often surrounded by luck, with the French coach notably offering sympathy to Fulham and Nottingham Forest after both sides created more chances and still lost.
The November international break has long been a favoured moment for clubs to make a change, offering one final pause before the festive period removes time for a new manager to settle. Several Premier League sides are understood to be weighing their options, including a Manchester United team only two places above Palace, but it is the Eagles who acted first.
Thomas Frank is the leading candidate to take over at Selhurst Park. The former Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur boss has been without a job since leaving Spurs in February after a poor run of form that worsened immediately after his departure. His work at Brentford brought success, although how much of that was down to the club’s structure rather than his own influence remains open to debate.
BBC Sport’s Sami Mokbel reports that talks between Palace and Frank are advanced, after Sky Sports News said the club had narrowed its search to seven potential successors.
Sean Dyche was also considered. He carries a more hardened reputation and brings experience of survival battles, having kept Burnley and Everton up in the past. Vítor Pereira has a similar record with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest, while Frank Lampard remains in a difficult spell with Coventry City.
Aston Villa
United Slip Into Relegation Zone After City Ground Result
United fall into the relegation zone after Forest beat City, leaving Carrick’s side under fresh pressure.
Manchester United’s brief relief did not last long, as Manchester City’s 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest pushed the Red Devils into the relegation zone. It is the first time the club have been there since November 1986, at least nine matches into a season.
The table now leaves United 18th on seven points, level with Crystal Palace in 19th and only above Sunderland. Nottingham Forest’s win lifted them to 16th, with Coventry City and Crystal Palace also on seven points in the lower reaches of the standings. Fulham sit 15th on 10 points, while Nottingham Forest are on nine.
United had already been hovering around danger for much of the campaign, and their only league victory so far remains the 5-2 win over newly promoted Ipswich Town in August. There has been little sign of a sustained recovery, and the pressure has only intensified.
Michael Carrick’s side now face another difficult test. An injury-riddled squad welcomes Aston Villa to Old Trafford on Sunday, with little margin for error as the season continues to tighten around them.
Forest’s victory was built on a composed and disciplined display, even as they spent long spells under pressure at City Ground. Enzo Maresca’s team were repeatedly forced back, but Nottingham Forest held firm.
Liam Delap provided the decisive edge with a brace, taking his tally to just his second and third Premier League goals of the season. He last scored on Sept. 12 in a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
Forest were two goals up by the 20th minute. Jair Cunha opened the scoring in the sixth minute after forcing a turnover on City’s Joško Gvardiol, then finishing low into the left side of the net. Twelve minutes later, Delap doubled the advantage after collecting the ball in Forest’s half and driving between Rúben Dias and Marc Guéhi before firing high into the net.
Coventry City
Premier League managers under pressure as early-season scrutiny intensifies
Carrick, Glasner, Arbeloa and Lampard are among the managers feeling Premier League pressure.
The Premier League never takes long to turn against a manager, and with no dismissal yet this season, the pressure is already building around a handful of dugouts.
The opening weeks have been difficult for several head coaches, whose teams have struggled to deliver after the September-October international break. That has sharpened attention on four managers who appear most vulnerable if results do not improve quickly.
Michael Carrick was handed a permanent role after engineering Manchester United’s revival as interim boss last season, earning significant backing from supporters and decision-makers alike. Yet the first full campaign has brought a hard reset. United have looked far less convincing, even if emphatic home wins over Ipswich Town and Sabah FK have offered some cover. Heavy defeats to Hull City, Manchester City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Atlético Madrid have told a different story, and a 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth has intensified talk around his future. Recruitment frustrations have only added to the strain, while supporters made their feelings clear by chanting Carrick’s name before quickly turning to boos after the defeat.
Oliver Glasner left Crystal Palace after delivering FA Cup, Community Shield and Conference League success, and Pierre Sage now inherits the challenge of matching that standard. Sage’s record with Lens in France was highly impressive, but Palace’s early-season form has been poor enough to raise concern. Wins over Fulham and Forest are their only league victories so far, and conceding 19 goals in eight games has left them among the division’s weakest defences. Reports of a dressing-room issue and tension with the board have done little to calm the situation.
Álvaro Arbeloa’s appointment at Fulham was always a bold move. Marco Silva had regularly exceeded expectations, and Arbeloa’s short, strange and unsuccessful spell as Real Madrid manager did little to ease doubts. After three straight defeats, including concerning defensive displays against Chelsea and Crystal Palace, Fulham steadied themselves with draws against Liverpool and Manchester United before slipping again against Ipswich Town. Back-to-back wins over Hull City and Coventry have improved the mood, but the pressure remains.
Frank Lampard’s work at Coventry City has restored his reputation and returned the club to the Premier League for the first time in 25 years. Even so, six defeats in eight matches and only six goals scored have created a difficult backdrop, despite recent wins over Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United.
