Jean-Philippe Mateta delivered a stunning hat-trick capped by a stoppage-time penalty as Crystal Palace clawed back from two goals down to draw 3-3 with Bournemouth in a thrilling contest at Selhurst Park.
The French striker completed his treble in the 97th minute after Marc Guehi was pulled down by Bafode Diakite during a corner, sending the home crowd into delirium.
Moments later, Mateta could have turned hero again, but fired over from close range deep into added time as Palace came within inches of a remarkable victory.
Bournemouth’s teenage forward Eli Kroupi, making his first Premier League start, had earlier stunned the home side with two goals to put the Cherries in control.
But Mateta’s quickfire double midway through the second half levelled the score before Ryan Christie struck in the 89th minute to restore Bournemouth’s lead, only for Mateta’s late penalty to deny them all three points.
The result continued a remarkable spell for Mateta, who recently made his France debut and scored his first international goal in a 2-2 draw with Iceland.
He now has seven goals for the season, driving Palace to eighth in the Premier League standings, while Bournemouth sit fourth.
The Cherries would have gone top temporarily with a win, pending Arsenal’s late game at Fulham.
For Palace, the dramatic draw sets the stage for a historic week.
They host AEK Larnaca in their first-ever home match in the main phase of a European competition on Thursday, before daunting away trips to Arsenal and Liverpool in the Premier League and Carabao Cup respectively.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, will enjoy a week’s rest before facing managerless Nottingham Forest, who sacked Ange Postecoglou earlier on Saturday in their next league outing.
