Crystal Palace laid down a marker in the Conference League with an emphatic 3-1 victory against AZ Alkmaar at Selhurst Park.
Oliver Glasner was looking for a reaction after Palace’s shock defeat to AEK Larnaca in their last league phase game, and his players responded in style.
Complacency is not something that sits well with Glasner, and it’s why his side have replied decisively to a four-game winless run in all competitions, with three straight victories.
Mindful of Palace’s lacklustre display against Larnaca, the Austrian named a near full-strength team, making just one change from the weekend’s victory over Brentford.
Glasner had said pre-match that Palace would need to prove their title credentials, and after a slow start, they found their rhythm, coming close on a number of occasions before Maxence Lacroix fired them into a 22nd-minute lead.
AZ had started the faster of the two teams, pressing with intent and limiting service to Jean-Philippe Mateta, who had three touches in the opening 10 minutes.
However, a Palace free-kick just inside the AZ half gave the hosts their first sight of goal as Ismaila Sarr hit the post from Chris Richards’ header, and from there the Eagles never looked back.
Yeremy Pino, quiet in the opening stages and seemingly struggling with the physicality of AZ’s midfield, started to find space, and Palace started to dominate. The 23-year-old has begun to find his feet after a period of adaptation following his £26million move from Villarreal.
The Spanish midfielder curled over from outside the box before a minute later slipping in the electric Sarr, who was brought down for a Palace penalty, given after a lengthy VAR check for offside.
Mateta’s tame effort was saved by Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro in the AZ goal, but Palace were not deterred.
This was a performance brimming with the energy and intensity so sorely lacking against AEK Larnaca, and after Sarr and Will Hughes, the latter hitting the crossbar, had come close, Lacroix hammered Palace into a deserved lead after another VAR check.
Glasner had taken some criticism for his decision to name Hughes and Jefferson Lerma in midfield during Palace's defeat to AEK Larnaca, with the pair having struggled to provide the vision or creativity to break down the Cypriot side’s low block.
Glasner, though, who got everything right on an impressive evening for Palace, was vindicated in his decision to persist with the midfield pairing in first-half stoppage time, with Lerma twice winning his header from Pino’s free-kick to eventually allow Sarr to stab in Palace’s second goal.
Palace were industrious, decisive, and utterly dominant as they sought to make an impression on a competition in which they are considered among the favourites. This was Palace, who had 35 per cent possession, at their efficient best.
AZ thought they had found a route back into the game after Sven Mijnans fired in to halve the deficit nine minutes after the restart, but Palace, so relentless in their pursuit of a statement victory, hit straight back as Sarr raced through and finished calmly to restore Palace’s two-goal lead.
The Senegalese winger has been in inspired form this season. His likely absence for the Africa Cup of Nations across December and January will be a big miss for Palace, and Glasner will need to figure out how he can replace his goals.
On a night such as this, though, those questions can be left to be answered at a later date. So too can the question of how Palace are going to manage a hectic fixture schedule, which is set to see them play four times in nine days across December.
Possession is overrated. Palace, the frustration of UEFA’s ruling still lingering, have arrived on the European stage by doing things on their terms, and who can blame them?
