Eddie Nketiah deletes apology after Crystal Palace red card vs Brighton
Eddie Nketiah has broken his silence after being sent off for Crystal Palace during their win over Brighton in a now-deleted social media post.
The two sides renewed their rivalry when they met at Selhurst Park on Saturday (5 April), with both looking to boost their hopes of European qualification this season.
In the end it was Crystal Palace who ran out 2-1 winners over Brighton to move to within four points of their opponents with a game in hand.
They did however have to things the hard way, and Nketiah was one of those who made life difficult for his team in that match.
Eddie Nketiah sees two quickfire yellow cards
A stunning strike from Jean-Philippe Mateta put Crystal Palace 1-0 up after just two minutes, before Danny Welbeck equalised on the half-hour mark.
The hosts then went back in front after the break through Daniel Munoz, only for things to then become trickier.
Crystal Palace went down to ten men when Nketiah was sent off for by referee Anthony Taylor two yellow cards in just nine minutes.
| Eddie Nketiah vs Brighton | Total (as per SofaScore) |
| Minutes Played | 10 |
| Shots | 0 |
| Successful Passes | 1/2 |
| Duels Won | 0/2 |
| Fouls | 3 |
The first of those was for a dive inside the Brighton penalty area, with the second coming for a high boot on opposition centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke.
Marc Guehi was later shown a second yellow as well as the Eagles went down to nine men, before their opponents also had a man sent off when Van Hecke received his second yellow card.
Nketiah then spoke out over his own dismissal, issuing an apology while also thanking his teammates and fans for getting him out of trouble.
Taking to Instagram to reflect on the game, the Crystal Palace striker wrote: “Apologies and a big thank you to the teams and the fans. Live and learn”. However, the message appears to have since been removed.
Crystal Palace striker’s tough season continues
Football Insider Verdict
It has not been an easy debut campaign at Selhurst Park for Nketiah following his move from Arsenal in the summer transfer window.
The striker has initially found it hard to score goals on a consistent basis, and to force his way into the Crystal Palace starting XI ahead of the likes of Mateta.
Recent weeks had seen Nketiah gradually start to make more of an impact in front of goal, and there were signs he is starting to settle in at the club.
But a setback such as this has now cost the striker some momentum, and he will have to hope he has not lost the faith of Glasner as well.
The main relief for him will be that this did not go on to cost Crystal Palace the win, which is further testament to the quality of this squad, and means their thanks from Nketiah is well deserved.