Football has an incredible knack for serving up brutal reality checks, and Crystal Palace received a particularly painful one on Saturday afternoon.
Pierre Sage’s first competitive match in charge ended in a 2-0 defeat to Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. But while losing on the opening weekend always stings, the scoreline tells only half the story.
The true heartbreaker came in the 72nd minute, when Chadi Riad stayed down clutching his left knee a sight that left traveling Eagles supporters sick to their stomachs.
Early promise undone by wasteful finishing
For the first 40 minutes, Palace actually looked like the more composed, inventive side. Moving away from Oliver Glasner’s rigid mechanics, Sage had the Eagles playing fluid, high-possession football, controlling 58% of the ball. The chances were there for the taking four big chances created, nearly double Everton’s expected goals.
Eddie Nketiah forced a world-class save from Jordan Pickford, who tipped his curling effort onto the post, before Jean-Philippe Mateta broke clean through only to rattle the woodwork himself. But in top-flight football, if you don’t take your chances, you pay the price.
Three minutes before the break, Daniel Muñoz failed to clear a routine ball, allowing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to unleash a thunderbolt into the top corner. Just eight minutes after the restart, defensive concentration lapsed again as Thierno Barry ghosted between Chris Richards and Jayvee Canvot to head home Iliman Ndiaye’s cross to make 2-0.
A heartbreaking scene as Riad’s nightmare returns
As frustrating as the defending was, everything turned cold when Riad went down attempting to block a cross from Vitaliy Mykolenko.
Dean Henderson instantly frantically signaled for medical help. The 23-year-old Morocco defender pulled his shirt over his face and was in tears as the medical team attended to his left leg. He was eventually stretchered off to warm applause from all four corners of the ground, replaced by summer signing Takehiro Tomiyasu.
It is a genuinely devastating setback for a player who has spent his Selhurst Park career battling unbelievable misfortune. Joined from Barcelona in June 2024 for £14 million, Riad suffered a knee injury against Norwich in the Carabao Cup that kept him out until December. Weeks after returning, a cruciate ligament tear in training wiped out another massive chunk of his season.
Transfermarkt records Riad missing a staggering 430 days across those two injuries, including 326 days for the cruciate recovery alone. Having fought his way back into Morocco’s 26-man World Cup squad and earned a starting berth under Sage, seeing him in tears was harrowing. Speaking earlier this year about his long road back, Riad admitted the rehabilitation process had been “mentally, very, very difficult” before adding with relief: “I just felt like a football player again.”
Now, Palace are left sweating on an update. Addressing Riad’s situation after the match, manager Pierre Sage was visibly concerned:
“At the moment I don’t know, I hope it will be better than we think. We await the medical tests.”
Transfer window reality check
The injury completely killed the game’s momentum, but it also laid bare Palace’s squad depth with less than a week remaining in the transfer window.
Between 13 players returning late from World Cup knockout runs, Ismaila Sarr’s unexplained absence amid rumours of a move to Galatasaray that Sage insisted was purely “medical” and ongoing speculation surrounding Muñoz and Mateta, the squad feels unsettled.
Palace already required two central defenders before kickoff. With Riad potentially facing another lengthy stint in the treatment room, chairman Steve Parish and the recruitment team may well need three incomings before the deadline passes. With Manchester City arriving at Selhurst Park next weekend, Sage needs quick reinforcements and a swift response.
