Oliver Glasner spent the week arguing that Crystal Palace’s fixture congestion has made the FA Cup holders victims of their own success. So he was mightily relieved with the ease that his side dispatched AZ as an outstanding performance from Ismaïla Sarr reignited their Conference League campaign.
The Senegal forward scored twice after Maxence Lacroix had given Palace the lead, even if Jean-Philppe Mateta endured one of his off-nights in front of goal as he missed an early penalty and several other gilt-edged chances. But with a testing trip to face Strasbourg – who are owned by the same company as Chelsea and rated like Palace as one of the favourites to win this competition – in their next match, only victory here would have sufficed and they showed a growing maturity given their inexperience at this level to get past youthful but talented opponents.
“We looked surprised with AZ’s intensity at the start but then we started to dominate with our physicality,” said Glasner, whose side are ninth in the standings after three matches. “Winning is the most important thing in sport because you get so much confidence from it.”
After being demoted to this competition from the Europa League by Uefa in the summer, Palace’s sense of injustice has been fuelled by this week’s fiasco over the scheduling of their Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. The potential implications of having to play five matches in the space of 11 days in December due to that and their European commitments made this game even more important after a surprise home defeat by the Cypriot side Larnaca last time out. With that in mind, Glasner made only one change from Palace’s win over Brentford on Saturday as Will Hughes replaced Daichi Kamada in midfield, while Adam Wharton was back on the bench after illness.
AZ’s productive academy has made them European regulars in recent years and were knocked out by Tottenham in the last-16 of the Europa League in March despite winning the first leg at home. Around 1,600 of their supporters had marched through Croydon town centre before kick-off, with former Spurs striker Troy Parrott leading the line for the Dutch side who appeared more intent on attacking than Palace’s previous opponents in this competition.
Kees Smit – a flame-haired midfielder who was voted player of the tournament at the European Under-19 Championships in the summer – impressed throughout but it was Palace that seized control early on. A volley from Sarr that emanated from a long Jefferson Lerma throw struck the post and Sarr won a penalty moments later after being taken out by AZ goalkeeper Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro. The video assistant referee had to overturn an incorrect offside call but Mateta could not take advantage as his weak penalty was easily saved.
Owusu-Oduro stretched to tip Sarr’s header on to the post two minutes later before Hughes hit the crossbar on the follow-up with a delicious dipping volley. A technical delay with the VAR meant Palace were forced to wait even longer for confirmation they had finally taken the lead. Lacroix lashed a shot into the net after Marc Guéhi’s cushioned header following another long throw, with the powers that be eventually deciding that the offside flag had again gone up incorrectly. Sarr made it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time when another set piece caused chaos in the AZ penalty area after Guéhi won the initial header.
Smit served warning that the visitors were still a threat when he was inches away from beating Dean Henderson at the start of the second half. Palace were guilty of surrendering possession high up the pitch to allow AZ to pull one back, with the captain, Sven Mijnans, sweeping home after Daniel Muñoz’s poor clearance. But a calm finish from Sarr restored the two-goal advantage within seconds after Mateta did brilliantly to play him through, only for the Frenchman to fluff his lines when a similar opportunity presented itself to him moments later.
Sarr looked disappointed to be substituted with 25 minutes to go with Sunday’s meeting with Brighton on the horizon as Wharton was given a run out, and Kamada had a late goal ruled out for offside. Isak Jensen could have made it a tense finish but somehow he headed wide from two yards out in stoppage time. Palace’s biggest test as the season progresses is likely to be how they cope with the incessant schedule of playing twice a week given Glasner’s reluctance to rotate his first-choice side. “I am a little bit tired but I’m happy to play games,” admitted Lacroix, who made his 18th appearance of the season. “If I can help the team, it’s perfect for me.”
He will hope that this win will go a long way towards helping to seal a place in the knockout stages of this competition before Palace’s hectic December begins.
