Crystal Palace put in a professional performance to beat AZ Alkmaar 3-1 and move up to 9th place in the Conference League league stage.
Eagles manager Oliver Glasner made it clear in his program notes that his team needed to respond with a win after the surprise defeat to AEK Larnaca in their final European match, but in the early stages of Thursday’s game it looked like the well-coached Eredivisie side would be making them work extremely hard for that.
Then the momentum changed. Moments after Ismaila Sarr rattled the post, goalkeeper Roma-Jaeden Owusu-Oduro fouled the Senegalese international and Palace were awarded a penalty.
Jean-Philippe Mateta fired into the bottom right corner after a lengthy VAR ruled Sarr was onside, but his meek spot-kick was deflected away with relative ease.
Jean-Philippe Mateta’s penalty was saved by Roma-Jayden Owusu-Oduro.
Sarr then made a fine save, Will Hughes’ volley hit the crossbar, and VAR intervened again after Maxence Lacroix hit a fierce half-volley. Mateta appeared to try to attack Marc Guehi’s downward header before Lacroix fired.
The check, which lasted 2 minutes and 54 seconds, confirmed that neither player was offside during the build-up.
Maxence Lacroix puts Crystal Palace ahead
In stoppage time of the first half, Palace headed Yeremy Pino’s floating free-kick to Sarr, who slotted it home for a deserved second goal. Again, the goal was only confirmed after a VAR check for possible offside.
Sarr has scored eight goals in all competitions this season.
AZ pulled one back nine minutes after the restart, with Sven Meinans firing a deflected shot past Dean Henderson after Palace equalized at half-time.
However, play had just barely restarted and the hosts restored their two-goal advantage when Sarr clinically found the back of the goal after receiving a pass from Mateta. From there there was no way back for the Dutch.
Glassner was impressed with Palace’s competitiveness.
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner told TNT Sports.
“A very good win and, to be honest, an important win against a very good Alkmaar team. This is what we expected. They play really good football.”
“It took us 10 to 15 minutes in the first half, but then we dominated physically, scored some nice goals and of course missed the penalty kick. It was a conference league story in the beginning, and I felt like we missed too many chances.”
“It was a tough match, but a very good result and performance. Maybe not the best, but it was really OK.”
“We are always confident.
“Every game we’ve played so far, in the Conference League, Premier League and Cup, we’ve shown that we’re competitive.
“It doesn’t mean we’re going to win every game, but it shows we can win and that’s always the most important thing.”
Lacroix: “I’m a defender, but I can score goals”
Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix told TNT Sports.
“I’m really happy to be able to present this victory to the fans. Everyone is happy.
“Honestly, I was impressed because they pressed really well, but we showed that we can compete.
“I’m really happy to help the team. I’m a defender, but I can score goals. It’s even better to score goals with my feet.”
“We’re moving in a good direction. We won three games in a row so I’m really happy and we want to keep going.
“I’m not going to lie. I’m a little tired, but I’m happy to be playing. This is why I play soccer.”
