Eddie Nketiah was unfortunate but still deserved his 1/10 rating against Brighton, writes KIERAN GILL after Crystal Palace striker was sent off in win
Though you imagine today’s footballers are not as obsessed with their newspaper ratings as the older generations once were, occasionally you receive a reminder they are still read.
There was one time when the representative of a Brighton player called on a Monday morning to say he and his client were peeved with the three he had received, for example.
Apparently the penalty he clumsily conceded had blinded me to all the good moments he had manufactured.
If Eddie Nketiah picked up a copy of the Mail on Sunday this week, the £30million summer signing from Arsenal will have seen a number one next to his name.
That came after one of the most unfortunate performances we have ever seen from a Crystal Palace player.
It was a cameo in which Nketiah managed as many touches of the ball as he did yellow cards after coming on when Palace were leading 2-1.
Eddie Nketiiah was sent off just 10 minutes after coming on against Brighton on Saturday
The former Arsenal man received two yellow cards in quick succession at Selhurst Park
Nketiah knew he had messed up in south London, apologising as he trudged to the tunnel
The first yellow came for trying to buy a penalty out of Pervis Estupinan, the second for sticking his studs up towards the head of Jan Paul van Hecke. Nketiah knew he had messed up, apologising as he trudged to the tunnel.
The silver lining is that Palace won in spite of his red, and the one shown to Marc Guehi as the hosts finished with nine men. Brighton likewise had van Hecke dismissed in stoppage time.
Nketiah has endured a challenging season since signing and, regrettably, this was a one-out-of-10 performance.
