Andros Townsend insists Crystal Palace had a "mental advantage" over Manchester United as they picked up an impressive 3-1 win at Old Trafford.
Roy Hodgson's side moved up to second in the league with successive Premier League wins to start their season.
It was Townsend who gave Palace the lead after only seven minutes before Wilfred Zaha came back to haunt his former club with two goals either side of a Donny van de Beek debut goal.
United were playing in their first match of the season having received an extended lay-off after reaching the Europa League semi-finals, and Townsend claims his side entered the fixture knowing they had the edge mentally.
"We knew it was Manchester United's first game and we knew if we started fast we could catch them cold and that's what we did," Townsend told Sky Sports.
"Once we get ahead, we know we're a very well drilled team and we knew we could see out the result.
"Mentally, we knew we had an advantage, whether that meant something or if it was just in our minds, we knew we could catch them cold if we started fast."
Townsend also heaped praise on his team-mate Zaha, who scored his third goal in two games to continue his blistering start to the league.
"He's an incredible talent, he's shown that in the six or seven years he has been here and we're very fortunate to have him in our ranks. Hopefully we can have him for a while longer yet."
However, while Palace certainly have cause for optimism after an exciting start, Townsend now insists his side cannot get carried away.
"Last season showed us we can't get carried away," he said. "We know we need to keep it one game at a time.
"We know we have it in the dressing room to have a good season. We did last season but we fell away towards the end. Hopefully we can learn from our mistakes."
