Premier League fans all say the same after what Nathaniel Clyne did in Crystal Palace draw with Fulham
Crystal Palace saw their recent winless run continue as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham on Thursday evening.
The Eagles had been flying high in the early stages of the Premier League season, but have since slipped down the table somewhat after their stuttering run of form of late.
Jean-Philippe Mateta’s future at Crystal Palace is uncertain as the January transfer window gets underway, but he was on hand to put them ahead shortly before the half-time interval, before Fulham skipper Tom Cairney snatched a point for his side in the 80th minute.
It was another frustrating evening for Oliver Glasner’s side, who remain three points adrift of fifth-placed Chelsea in the race for Europa League qualification.
Premier League fans pile in with Nathaniel Clyne joke after assist
Eddie Nketiah’s injury is a blow for Crystal Palace, and they were unable to find their way past Fulham in the striker’s absence in midweek.
The South London outfit came within touching distance their first league win on home turf since the 2-1 triumph over Liverpool at the end of September, but squandered a late in the latter stages.
Mateta ended his recent goal drought in the process, but it was the assist for his goal that arguably garnered more attention than the finish itself.
The Frenchman headed home Nathaniel Clyne’s cross in the 39th minute, with that assist marking the 34-year-old’s first goal contribution of the campaign.
Clyne has enjoyed something of a resurgence at Selhurst Park in recent years, and he rolled back the years on this occasion as he skipped past Antonee Robinson with ease and delivered an inch-perfect cross.
The irony of the moment wasn’t lost among Premier League fans, who took to X to express their disbelief at the fact that the right-back is still going strong in 2025-26.
Fans from across the league joked about their surprise over seeing the Crystal Palace star’s name connected to a goal in 2026, in what is now his 18th full season as a professional.
- @karlcrespo: “Clyne arcing a sublime cross to Mateta to downward head past Leno is quite frankly my favourite football moment of 2026.”
- @Az_capone1: “Getting cooked by Clyne in 2026.”
- @RJ_107: “Clyne A you know.”
When will Daniel Munoz return for Crystal Palace?
Daniel Munoz has been a standout performer for Crystal Palace so far this season, but his recent absence has required Clyne to come in and deputise.
The Colombian had been enjoying an excellent campaign prior to the knee injury that he underwent surgery on in the early part of December.
The wing-back has been unavailable since the 1-0 win away at Burnley on 3 December, and the initial prognosis from Glasner was that he could be set to miss between four and six weeks of action.
Munoz is now several weeks into that timeframe, meaning that his return could be in the pipeline within the next few weeks.
The 29-year-old could potentially be fit enough to return for their trip to Sunderland on 17 January, as per the latest update from Premier Injuries.
Many people thought that Clyne no longer possessed the same level of dynamism that has become a hallmark of Munoz’s game, but his assist against Fulham perhaps suggests otherwise.