Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta struck twice, including a last-gasp penalty, as the Eagles clawed back from a two-goal deficit to salvage a dramatic 2-2 draw against newly promoted Leicester City at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Despite the spirited comeback, both sides remain winless, each with two points from their opening four Premier League games.
Leicester seemed poised for victory after veteran striker Jamie Vardy and winger Stephy Mavididi found the net on either side of halftime.
Vardy broke the deadlock in the 21st minute, latching onto a perfectly timed through ball from Wilfred Ndidi. The 37-year-old forward raced past Palace defender Marc Guehi and rounded goalkeeper Dean Henderson to tap into an empty net.
The Foxes had a golden chance to extend their lead just before the interval when a poor clearance from Guehi landed at Vardy’s feet.
He teed up Mavididi, but the forward’s effort drifted wide. However, Mavididi made amends immediately after the restart, smashing home Leicester’s second goal just 19 seconds into the second half.
His strike came after Nathaniel Clyne’s failed clearance, leaving Palace stunned and their fans increasingly frustrated.
Palace, jeered off at halftime, responded quickly through Mateta. The French striker turned home a low cross from Tyrick Mitchell in the 47th minute to halve the deficit.
Although the assistant referee initially raised the offside flag, a lengthy VAR review overturned the decision, allowing the goal to stand, much to the relief of the home support.
With momentum shifting, Palace pushed relentlessly for an equalizer. They were rewarded deep into stoppage time when substitute Ismaila Sarr was brought down in the box by Leicester defender Conor Coady.
Mateta coolly stepped up and sent Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen the wrong way, securing a hard-fought point for Roy Hodgson’s side.
Meanwhile, across London at Craven Cottage, West Ham United also staged a late comeback, thanks to Danny Ings’ late strike, to snatch a 1-1 draw against Fulham.
Fulham started the brighter of the two, with new signings Emile Smith Rowe, Alex Iwobi, and Adama Traore all impressing in the first half.
Fulham’s fans felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Traore was bundled over by his former Wolves teammate Max Kilman.
However, the VAR review ruled there wasn’t enough contact to warrant a spot-kick. Fulham’s pressure paid off in the 25th minute when Raul Jimenez, surprisingly included in the starting lineup ahead of Rodrigo Muniz, finished off a well-worked move. Smith Rowe kept the ball alive near the byline and cut it back for Jimenez, who made no mistake from close range.
West Ham offered little in attack during the first half, managing an expected goals value of just 0.05.
However, David Moyes’ side improved after introducing Lucas Paqueta and Crysencio Summerville in the second half. Summerville came close to turning in a cross, while Jarrod Bowen’s effort was denied by Fulham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
The breakthrough for West Ham came in the dying moments when Bowen, once again involved, pulled the ball back for substitute Danny Ings.
The striker, only on the field for a few minutes, created space and rifled his shot into the bottom corner with virtually the last kick of the game.
West Ham, second best for much of the match, managed to steal a point due to the impact of their substitutes, with manager Julen Lopetegui earning praise for his tactical changes late on.
