Why Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta felt 'distracted' before missed penalty in AZ Alkmaar UEFA Conference League win

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Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta missed the chance to put his side in front against AZ Alkmaar in Thursday's UEFA Conference League encounter at Selhurst Park after the Frenchman appeared to not hear the whistle from Italian referee Daniele Chiffi before beginning his run-up. AZ goalkeeper Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro saved his spot kick but two goals from Ismaila Sarr helped come to his aid

Highlights: Sarr strikes twice to earn Palace first ever European home win

Video credit: TNT Sports

Crystal Palace reignited their UEFA Conference League campaign as Ismaila Sarr scored twice to ease his side to a 3-1 victory over Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar on Thursday - sparing the blushes of his team-mate Jean-Philippe Mateta.

The forward, who earlier in the day was called up to the France squad for the forthcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Azerbaijan later this month, missed a golden opportunity to score from the penalty spot with the game goalless.

Palace would go on to win their first match in a major European competition on home soil - but it was a frustrating night for Mateta, whose failure to score from 12 yards was one of several gilt-edged chances.

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Maxence Lacroix fired home from the edge of the area to break the deadlock, a goal that was initially chalked off for offside but eventually was allowed to stand after an almost three-minute VAR check, before Sarr took centre stage with two well-taken goals to continue his impressive form this season.

It was Sarr who won the first-half penalty, but Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro dived to his left to save from Mateta, who appeared distracted during his run-up, visibly pointing to his ear as play continued.

TNT Sports commentator Sam Matterface noted: "I don't think he'd heard the whistle. He hadn't realised the whistle had gone - hence the delay - and then he wasn't ready himself."

'He's obviously not heard it' - Mateta's whistle confusion leads to missed penalty

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Former West Ham striker Michail Antonio concurred with the observation at half-time, saying: "The whistle was blown, he then looks at the referee, and stands there waiting for a whistle, even though the whistle's already blown.

"He looks again, and he's like, 'Alright, cool, I'm just going to kick this now,' and he's taken the pen. I feel like it's not a bad pen; I feel like maybe you should have put a bit more power into it.

Mateta sees spot-kick saved as Palace denied opprtunity for early lead

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"He's obviously going to the bottom corner, and he was slightly confused by the whistle. I feel a bit for him there, because he's sort of saying, 'I didn't hear the whistle', and that must be quite off-putting. When he was waiting, he turns around, he then says to the referee, 'can I go?'

"The referee says, 'I've already blown the whistle', so then he goes to take the penalty."

"The fans must’ve been roaring for him not to hear the whistle. His performance after that didn’t affect him. He's a true professional, he put it behind him, carried on and had a great game."

Former Palace defender Joel Ward added: "I think that’s only human when that sort of scenario happens. You’re so focused in that moment.

"He’s obviously not heard it, and then he’s kind of almost had to rush it at the end there because he needs to take the penalty. It might’ve distracted him a little bit.

Goal hero Lacroix pleased with Palace form after victory over AZ

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"It didn't really play a part in the result anyway, and it didn't seem to affect his game. His all-round performance throughout the game was outstanding, his hold-up play."

Palace suffered a shock home defeat by AEK Larnaca last month, but this result moves them up to ninth in the league ahead of their next encounter away to Strasbourg on November 27 - live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Currently one place off an automatic last-16 spot, The Eagles will be confident of collecting the required points to complete the job with further games against Shelbourne (away) on December 11 and KuPS (home) on December 18.

Palace manager Oliver Glasner told TNT Sports: "It's a very good win, an important win against, honestly, a very good Alkmaar team. This is what we expected; they play really nice football.

'Tough game but a very good result' - Glasner hails Palace after 'important' win over AZ

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"In the first half, it took us 10, 15 minutes, but then I think we dominated with our physicality, scoring nice goals and, of course, missing a penalty. The beginning felt like the story of the Conference League, missing too many chances.

"It was a tough game, but a very good result and performance. Maybe not on top, but it was also really OK. We always have confidence.

"In every game we've played now in the Conference League and also in the Premier League and all the cup competitions, we've shown we are competitive. That doesn't mean we win every single game, but it shows we can win, and that's always the most important thing."

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