Ebere Eze on partnership with Mateta and hitting his stride at Crystal Palace

Eberechi Eze played a starring role in Crystal Palace’s impressive win over Brighton on Saturday, delivering both assists in their 2-0 triumph.

The attacking midfielder has been in superb form recently, having scored his first senior international goal for England and played a pivotal part in Palace’s FA Cup quarter-final victory against Fulham, where he both scored and assisted.

Eze’s creativity was on full display again this weekend. His clever pass set up Jean-Philippe Mateta’s opener, and he later embarked on a brilliant solo run to create Daniel Muñoz’s goal. Mateta’s strike also marked the 10th time this season in the Premier League that Eze has assisted the Frenchman.

Speaking after the game, Eze explained why the duo link up so well in attack:
"JP's a big player for us," he said. "Both in scoring goals and affecting games, we need him to do that. I enjoy playing with him, he's a top player and a top guy. You know where he's going to be, you know his strength. And we've built a good relationship over a few years now, so it's good to be playing with him."

Saturday’s win extended Palace’s unbeaten streak to seven games across all competitions — six of which have been victories — and Eze has been instrumental in that run.

By his own admission, he’s beginning to find his top form.
"I'm just gaining a bit of rhythm now," he said. "Gaining some more strength game by game. It's important for me to be playing and feeling good, so I'm happy to be doing that."

The 25-year-old admitted he has personal targets, though he’s keeping them private.
"I do set myself goals for the season, but I won't tell you guys!" he laughed. "I'm just always trying to improve, trying to be better than I was last season."

While he's not calling it the best football of his career, Eze believes there’s more to come:
"I wouldn't say it's the best, but I'm happy to be playing well and trying. For sure, there's still more to come. We've still got a lot to achieve this season. We believe that we can do it and the mentality is to keep going, keep pushing and to see where we can get to."