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Eddie Nketiah scored his first goal for Crystal Palace in the League Cup on Tuesday, netting in their win over Queens Park Rangers.

LONDON, ENGLAND: Elijah Dixon-Bonner of Queens Park Rangers passes the ball under pressure from Eddie Nketiah of Crystal Palace during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace at MATRADE Stadium on September 17, 2024. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Former Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah has made a strong start to life with new club Crystal Palace, but the one thing he was lacking was a competitive goal.

The 25-year-old had already netted a brace in a friendly for Palace over the international break, and he went on to earn praise for his performance against Leicester City at the weekend.

But Nketiah has always prided himself on his goalscoring, so his start would be incomplete until he got himself on the scoresheet. Fortunately, that happened on Tuesday.

Eddie Nketiah celebrating a goal for Crystal Palace (Photo via Crystal Palace on Twitter)

For the second game in a row, Nketiah found himself in the starting lineup for Palace, playing away to QPR in the League Cup. Within just 16 minutes, he had his goal, firing home a quick free-kick from a tight angle.

The goal gave Palace the lead, and though they were pegged back by Sam Field early in the second half, a 64th-minute goal from Eberechi Eze ended up being enough to secure progression to the next round.

Nketiah came off a minute later, perhaps with Palace’s weekend fixture against Manchester United in mind. That match is on Saturday, September 21st at 17:30 BST, at Selhurst Park.

Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah (L) vies with Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez (R) during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in London on September 3, 2023. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)

Nketiah has a positive recent record against Manchester United, with Arsenal winning all three of the matches he’s started against the side.

Most notably, the striker netted twice in a 3-2 victory over United in 2023, scoring a first-half equaliser and an injury-time winner. He’ll want to do the same for his new club now.