EDDIE NKETIAH savoured his first Premier League goal for Crystal Palace on Tuesday evening before expressing his wish to secure more game-time.

Nketiah, a £25 million acquisition from Arsenal in the summer, was introduced in the 86th minute at Selhurst Park and found the net with a poacher’s finish in stoppage time to seal a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa.

Ismaila Sarr had earlier opened the scoring for the hosts, with Morgan Rogers briefly restoring parity at the start of the second half before a Jean Phillipe-Mateta strike and Sarr’s second put the Eagles back in the ascendancy en route to their fifth win in seven league matches.

“It’s nice to get the win and get my first one in the Premier League (for Palace),” Nketiah said on the club’s website. “It’s a good feeling, and nice to obviously share that moment with my family and friends and team-mates, so I’m really delighted.

“I thought it was a good performance, first and second half. We reacted really well when they did score, but I think it was a really dominant performance.

“Obviously, we missed a few chances in the first half, but we were really clinical in the second half. It was just about being clinical in the second half — and we were able to do that.”

Nketiah now wants to get his head down and impress boss Oliver Glasner in training in order to earn more minutes on the pitch.

“I can’t influence the manager’s decision in terms of selection, but I try to do it every day on the grass by working hard,” the 25-year-old said.

“I would like to play more minutes, but that’s life. The team have been doing well and I’ve just got to keep doing my thing when I get opportunities. Like I said, hopefully I can go on a nice run now.”

Palace midfielder Adam Wharton made his first Premier League start since October, having undergone groin surgery, and produced an outstanding display in front of watching England manager Thomas Tuchel.

Tuchel also saw another young English player impress, with Rogers on the scoresheet, and the 22-year-old gave an honest assessment after his side’s defeat.

Asked whether manager Unai Emery making four changes had an impact as Villa negotiate a busy schedule, Rogers told his club’s website: “I don’t think we’re going to make excuses for that. I think we’ve got a good enough squad, a big enough squad.

“Last week we were talking about how good our subs are off the bench and so on and so forth. So, no, we’re not going to make that an excuse.

“We just weren’t good enough, it’s as simple as that.”

Villa now have a break from league action with an FA Cup fifth-round tie against Cardiff tomorrow before their trip to Club Brugge in the Champions League next week.