Eberechi Eze scored and assisted on his Loftus Road return with Crystal Palace as the Eagles beat QPR 2-1 in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
Eze, who joined Palace from their Sky Bet Championship hosts for a reported £17m in 2020, was presented with a shirt ahead of kick-off before he went on to sting his boyhood club in what proved an impressive individual display in west London.
The attacking midfielder set up Eddie Nketiah for his first Palace goal before his fortunate second-half effort cancelled out Sam Field’s equaliser.
QPR enjoyed an opening spell of possession against their Premier League opponents but a mistake from Harrison Ashby almost saw them concede an early goal. The right-back initially showed great skill to nutmeg his opposite number in a tight space, but he held onto the ball too long and a turnover saw Tyrick Mitchell’s ball across the box blazed over the bar by Eze.
Palace’s patience in defence soon paid dividends as they forced the mistake which gave them a 16th-minute lead.
Eberechi Eze made 112 appearances for QPR before they sold him to Crystal Palace in 2020
Palace pressed high, winning the ball in a promising area and winning a free-kick which Eze took quickly, catching QPR napping as he unleashed Nketiah down the right. The reported £30m signing from Arsenal produced a powerful finish from a tight angle which found a way through ‘keeper Joe Walsh’s legs.
Nketiah was Palace’s brightest spark with freedom to roam on either side and he was at the heart of another move which nearly made it 2-0.
The forward combined with Eze once more, this time on the left, and a drilled attempt from a similar angle as before was tipped by Walsh into the path of the surging Daniel Munoz, who was denied his first Palace goal after his attempt from six yards trickled into the ‘keeper’s hands.
After the break, Rangers came out inspired and quickly drew level. Ashby’s cross was met the head of Paul Smyth, with Dean Henderson making an acrobatic stop, but Palace and Henderson failed to deal with the subsequent corner.
Eze scored one and made the other of Palace’s two goals against his former club
The ‘keeper punched the ball high into the air and Rangers won a couple of headers before Field smashed the ball home from close range.
But a magnificent solo run from Eze, who spent four years at Loftus Road between 2016 and 2020, resulted in Palace retaking their earlier lead.
The England international’s flick in midfield saw him breeze past his marker, allowing him to drive towards the box. His strike, which would have been routine for Walsh to deal with, took a hefty deflection off captain Steve Cook and found the net.
The 26-year-old refused to celebrate in front of the Rangers faithful as QPR failed to convert their late chances in a tie which ended in favour of Oliver Glasner’s men.
Glasner praises ‘unbelievable’ Eze
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner:
“Who’s a better player than Eze? For me he’s absolutely top, if he was luckier this season he would have five or six goals.
“He’s always dangerous because he has the quality and ability at 1-1, he’s such an unbelievable finisher, in some situations he can improve, he’s a guy who can always score and he’s someone who everyone likes.
“This is why he’s on the pitch because he’s able to score goals.”
Nketiah opened his Palace account when a smashed finish from a tight angle crept through the legs of Rangers keeper Joe Walsh.
Glasner talked up the forward’s influence since his reported £30m deadline day move from Arsenal last month.
“Eddie’s showed it before he joined, he can score goals,” he added.
“In this system and all the players coming into situations where they can score, he scored the first today. It’s the patterns we have where players who come into this position, then we need players who can finish and he did really well.
“He’s smart at finding space, he can play nine or 10, he can play around the striker because he’s smart and has such a good feeling. He can make a run in behind from the opposite side and wait for the cut-back.”
Cifuentes: I’m proud of the guys
QPR boss Marti Cifuentes:
“We’re here to win matches and today we didn’t. We have a feeling their first goal had a big part on the development of the game, it’s a goal we can’t concede and we needed to be better than we did.
“The feeling was despite the slow start, we can put pressure and challenge a Premier League side.
“I’m proud of the guys, it showed they’re ready to contribute and fight for this club.”