When the traveling Palace faithful made their way out of Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the overriding feeling was one of profound frustration.
Pierre Sage’s tenure as Crystal Palace manager kicked off with a bitter 2-0 defeat to Everton a match where the Eagles dominated long spells, played liquid football, hit the woodwork twice, and yet somehow managed to leave Merseyside empty-handed.
For a club riding high after a historic 12 months that yielded three trophies, including the FA Cup and UEFA Conference League, this was a harsh slap of Premier League reality. Following the summer departures of Oliver Glasner and defensive pillar Maxence Lacroix, transition was always on the cards.
But to watch an opening display where the football looked good for 40 minutes only to unravel through self-inflicted errors and a distinct lack of bite in the 18-yard box was a tough pill for any Palace fan to swallow.
The pre-match narrative was already dominated by off-field chaos. While Dean Henderson shook off a late knock to start in goal, the elephant in the room was the glaring omission of Ismaïla Sarr. Amid intense transfer interest from Galatasaray and reports of agreed terms, our 21-goal top scorer from last season was nowhere to be seen. In his place, Dwight McNeil was handed a debut against his former club, while Adam Wharton anchored the midfield.
Dominant Start Undone by Familiar Profligacy
Under the glaring Merseyside sun, Palace started with the kind of swagger that brought so much silverware to Selhurst Park last term. The passing was crisp, the movement fluid, and Everton were left chasing shadows for large periods of the opening half-hour.
The chances came quickly. James Tarkowski misjudged a header that fell straight to Eddie Nketiah, who fed Jean-Philippe Mateta, only for the Frenchman to loft his strike over the bar. Moments later, Daniel Muñoz forced a save from Jordan Pickford, and McNeil saw a driving effort blocked against his former employers.
Palace hit the woodwork twice in a dominant first half where they looked head and shoulders above David Moyes’ side. But in the Premier League, if you don’t kill teams off when you have them on the ropes, you pay the ultimate price. Just before the break, against the run of play, Everton pounced on sloppy defending to allow Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to open the scoring. One lapse in concentration, and all that intricate buildup counted for absolutely zero.
Second-Half Fade and a Worrying Blow for Riad
Any hopes of an immediate second-half fightback were quickly smothered as Everton squeezed the pitch with a high press. Palace’s composure evaporated. Unforced turnovers began to mount in areas where Sage explicitly warned his team not to give the ball away.
The killer blow arrived when Iliman Ndiaye reacted sharpest to a quick free-kick, whipping in a delivery for Thierno Barry to head home Everton’s second.
Sage attempted to spark a revival by bringing on Jørgen Strand Larsen and Evann Guessand for Mateta and McNeil, but the momentum had completely swung. To make matters immeasurably worse for the red-and-blue army in the away end, Chadi Riad went down in distress following a challenge with Barry, clutching his knee in obvious agony. The defender was stretchered off to be replaced by Takehiro Tomiyasu, adding a potentially devastating injury blow to an already miserable afternoon.
Pickford was called upon late to deny a Strand Larsen header, and Yeremy Pino blazed a late chance wildly over the bar, but the truth was undeniable: Palace had completely run out of ideas long before Paul Tierney blew the final whistle.
Speaking to Palace TV after the match, Pierre Sage offered a refreshingly honest, unfiltered assessment of where his side failed. The Frenchman refused to hide behind bad luck or xG statistics, delivering a sharp warning about what is required to win games at this level.
“We played in the right way to win in the first-half and not in the second,” Sage admitted candidly. “But when you play in this direction, you have to score.
“We missed two or three big opportunities and we gave the goal to the opponent. That’s why the second-half was difficult, with them taking the second goal too.
“And when we had the ball in second-half, we didn’t play quick enough – that’s why it was difficult to play in their half – and we didn’t create other chances.
“Sometimes, you know, you do the job and you don’t have the salary at the end – and today it was like this. We have to convert that because it’s some actions between players.
“Sometimes you play very well and you can keep it on YouTube, and when you lose your finishing, you take the clip and you put it in the waste. That’s why a goal is very important: to give the things that the team are looking for.
“It’s important for us to do that, especially in this kind of game, because I think they were not too much better than us today, and we had the opportunity to win.”
“I think our first half should have put us ahead, but we didn’t score and then made mistakes. We have to take positives and convert into very good things.
“Sometimes you deserve but don’t score. What we have to keep from the first half is how we play, but we did make easy mistakes. We play with the ball and can lose it under pressure, but today we lost it when not under pressure. That’s something we have to cancel.
“In the second half we were with less energy. I made the substitutions because I thought we could play more dynamic, but it didn’t happen. We gave up a little bit. We have to understand when it’s 2-0 the game is not over.”
There is no time for Palace fans or players to feel sorry for themselves. The fixture list has dealt Sage a monumental home debut as Manchester City head to South London on Friday night.
Selhurst Park will need to be at its roaring, atmospheric best to lift the boys, and Sage left no doubt as to what he expects from his squad when they step out under the lights.
“Now the game against Manchester City is the most important game for us,” Sage declared.
“This one is done. We lose, we know that, and we have to do the job at home, especially for our fans, but for ourselves too, because today we saw that we could win, but we lost.
“Now we have to take the things and keep it in our hands – and nobody can take that from us.”
