Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has showered praise on Nigerian midfielder Christantus Uche after an impressive performance in his first start for the club, marking the occasion with a goal in a commanding 3-0 win over Shelbourne in the UEFA Conference League.
Uche, who is currently on loan at Selhurst Park, wasted no time making an impact. The midfielder opened the scoring just 11 minutes into the contest in Dublin, calmly finishing a well-weighted pass from Eddie Nketiah after drifting intelligently into space.
Before this breakthrough outing, Uche had been restricted to just nine substitute appearances, a lack of game time that contributed to his omission from Nigeria’s recently announced 28-man squad for the 2025 AFCON qualifiers. But on Thursday night, the 21-year-old made a strong case for more minutes.
Beyond his goal, Uche played a key role in Palace’s second strike. His clever effort crashed against the post, allowing Nketiah to react quickest and slot home the rebound. The move underlined Uche’s attacking instincts and growing confidence in the final third.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Glasner praised the cohesion among his attacking players while singling out Uche’s performance.
“For the strikers, the most important thing is always scoring goals, but he also assisted one,” the Palace boss said. “All three who played upfront scored and assisted each other. That’s how it should be.”
Glasner also made it clear that Uche had earned his place in the starting lineup.
“It was time for Uche, he deserved it. He showed up against Fulham, and that’s why he deserved it,” the Austrian coach added.
The Crystal Palace manager hinted that this could be a defining moment for the Nigerian midfielder at the club.
“He also showed that he can help us and can score goals. That’s why it was a very good outing for him. Maybe the starting moment at Crystal Palace.”
For Christantus Uche, this performance could be the spark that ignites a consistent run in the Palace lineup — and potentially reopens the door to the Super Eagles setup ahead of major international competitions.
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