Crystal Palace star dedicates winning goal to stricken Mateta with scissor-kick celebration | OneFootball

Crystal Palace forward Ismaila Sarr says he scored his side’s winning goal against Ipswich Town for injured teammate Jean Philippe-Mateta.

The Eagles struggled to break down the visitor’s stubborn backline at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Ipswich, though, finally relented in the 82nd minute as Sarr skipped past the defence before sending a delightful chip past goalkeeper Alex Palmer and into the net.

“The game today was tough but we won,” he told Premier League Productions after the final whistle.

Read – Jean-Philippe Mateta ‘on Man Utd radar’ in striker search

“I am happy for myself and the team. But we need to keep going and working hard.

“This team is working very hard. The first half was tough, but in the second, we scored and got the three points.”

Crystal Palace star Sarr dedicates winning goal to Mateta

Sarr mimicked Mateta‘s trademark celebration following his goal, scissor-kicking the corner flag. The striker suffered a nasty head injury during last weekend’s 3-1 win over Millwall in the FA Cup when goalkeeper Liam Roberts kicked him in the ear while trying to clear a long ball.

“I did it for him,” the Senegal international revealed. “He is my guy. He is a good guy. But he is doing good.”

While Palace move up to 11th in the Premier League table, Ipswich remain third from bottom, five points adrift of safety.

“They are a good team,” Sarr added. “We knew before the game it was going to be tough.”

Since losing 5-1 to Arsenal in December, Palace have lost just two of the following 14 games in all competitions, winning ten and drawing twice during that run.

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