Bakary Sako scored a dramatic late winner on his debut as Crystal Palace had the final say in a pulsating game against Aston Villa at Selhurst Park.
Wing wizard Adama Traore looked to have secured a valuable point for Villa after his blistering run forced Eagles defender Pape Souare to deflect the ball into his own net. But with just three minutes remaining, left-back Jordan Amavi was dispossessed by Scott Dann who teed up the former Wolves attacker to seal all three points.
The frenetic encounter, which came to life after the break, had already seen Palace disallowed a goal for offside. James McArthur bundled the ball home but after strong protests from the Villa players, referee Keith Stroud overruled his assistant and left the game teetering on the brink at 0-0.
Former Birmingham City defender Dann then broke the deadlock for the home side with a header from a floated Jason Puncheon corner and despite Traore’s best efforts of staging a Villa comeback it was Palace who delivered the final blow.
Villa had been the better side in the first half but were guilty of wasteful finishing, with Gabby Agbonlahor failing to slot past Alex McCarthy when through on goal and Jack Grealish forcing a fine stop from the Eagles goalkeeper. A double substitution at half time stirred Palace into life and their pace and power on the counter-attack in the end proved too much for the Midlands side who have now slumped to back-to-back defeats.
Goals earn points
Villa striker Rudy Gestede wasted a couple of headed chances on his first start for the club and Agbonlahor was again found wanting in front of goal after failing to capitalise on a one-on-one situation. Sako showed Villa how it should be done, however, by clinically slotting home as the game ticked towards 90 minutes.
Last season only relegated Burnley (28) scored fewer goals than Villa (31) and with only two goals in three games so far this season Tim Sherwood will be mindful of the need to replace Christian Benteke’s goals.
‘Tactics Tim’ strikes again
At a time when Palace were gaining a foothold in the game, Sherwood brought off Villa’s best performer in defensively minded Carlos Sanchez and replaced him with winger Traore. Introducing Traore seemed like a perfectly reasonable move but taking Sanchez off severely hindered Villa’s ability to halt Palace’s momentum. Agbonlahor or Grealish, who was tiring by this point, seemed like the obvious choices to make way.
Alan Pardew, on the other hand, showed his tactical awareness with the double substitution he made at half time. Bringing on Dwight Gayle and Jordon Mutch allowed Palace to dictate more of the play in the second period and really take the game to the Villans.
Model Palace
Palace is a shining example of a club now blossoming into a top-half Premier League side with pace and power in abundance throughout the team. They have also added guile to the side in Yohan Cabaye and they are continuously looking to play to their strengths with quick counter-attacking football. The Eagles have also scored 16 goals from set pieces since Pardew took over – more than any other Premier League team in that period.
Blink and you will miss him
Earlier this week Sherwood warned that former Barcelona ace Traore was not ready for regular first team football. Perhaps he was rightly taking some pressure off the teenager’s shoulders but after his impressive 20-minute cameo in south London, Sherwood may have to review that standpoint.
After losing the ball a couple of times early on, Traore then showed why he is tipped for big things by terrorising the Palace defence and getting to the byline on three separate occasions. With Villa struggling for goals, the winger could be one to watch as the season progresses.
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