Scott Dann gave special praise to Cheikhou Kouyate following the 1-0 win for Crystal Palace against Southampton on the opening day of the Premier League.
Dann started alongside Kouyate in a makeshift defence with Roy Hodgson's side suffering from a number of injuries.
However, they managed to keep out Danny Ings and Southampton to end a poor run of form spanning over from last season.
And Dann says that Kouyate is proving his mettle in an unusual centre-back position.
"[Kouyate] is a top player, he can play midfield and he showed today what he's capable of in the back four," Dann told BT Sport.
"He's been playing like that since the end of last season so hopefully he can continue doing that.
"It was a good defensive performance from the front all the way through. Everyone put a shift in, goalkeeper made some good saves at the important times, and thankfully we managed to get the goal at the other end. Wilf scored a great goal.
"We probably could have killed the game off as well, but delighted to get the clean sheet.
"Very important [to win on the opening day]. We finished last season on the wrong foot.
"We've been working in pre-season that we start this [season] in a different manner and today's performance and the three points are very important going forward.
"After lockdown last season Southampton picked up really well.They have a lot of energy pushing forward, pressing from the front and played a high line.
"We felt we could capitalise on that, thankfully we managed to do it.
"We probably could have finished the game off a bit easier and not let it go on till the end."
