Eberechi Eze stars on return to QPR as Crystal Palace progress in Carabao Cup

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 £17million in 2020, was presented with a shirt before kick-off as 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.

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.

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