Oliver Glasner’s first match in charge of Crystal Palace ended in a buoyant 3-0 victory over 10-man Burnley at Selhurst Park.
The relegation-threatened hosts got off to a bright start and were on the front foot for the majority of the first half, but it remained goalless after the break despite Josh Brownhill’s 38th-minute sending–off.
Chris Richards broke the deadlock with his first Premier League goal, a 68th-minute header, before Jordan Ayew doubled the Eagles’ advantage four minutes later and Jean-Philippe Mateta’s spot-kick made the game safe.
Burnley had a late consolation chalked off, another blow on a disappointing end to an afternoon that saw Palace move eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Glasner, treated to a warm ovation when he was introduced to the crowd, had named an unchanged line-up from the Eagles’ 1-1 draw with Everton and employed the same 3-4-2-1 formation.
The Austrian had spoken of his goal-scoring ambitions for an Eagles side who, with 28 from 26 matches, had at kick-off only scored more than bottom side Sheffield United, the 17th-placed Toffees and Saturday’s opponents.
The visitors opened with what could have been a costly error, when Charlie Taylor’s pass back to his goalkeeper completely evaded James Trafford and went out for a Palace corner inside two minutes.
Glasner will have been encouraged by the fighting start from the hosts, who had few clear-cut chances but consistently found themselves on the front foot, the visitors seeing little of the ball until a brief spell around the 20-minute mark.
From then it was all Palace, Odsonne Edouard first seeing a chance deflected off Lorenz Assignon, then Trafford doing well to block Joachim Andersen’s close-range effort through a sea of bodies from the resulting corner and later going to ground to deny Edouard from nodding Adam Wharton’s cross past the post with an outstretched save.
Burnley were down to 10 men when Trafford’s weak pass allowed Jefferson Lerma to pounce and the under-pressure Brownhill responded by dragging the Palace midfielder down by the back of his shirt, earning an instant red from referee Lewis Smith.
Kompany instantly replaced Zeki Amdouni with Josh Cullen before Edouard skimmed the top of the crossbar with a free kick, and though Palace largely remained in control would have been frustrated the contest remained a stalemate at the break.
It was a similar story to start the second half, the hosts looking more likelier to break the deadlock but directing efforts narrowly off-target, while David Datro Fofana nodded a rare chance for Burnley wide.
Glasner made his first changes, swapping Wharton for Naouirou Ahamada and replacing Edouard with Matheus Franca, his side taking a deserved lead two minutes later when Richards nodded Ayew’s cross into the bottom corner.
Franca picked up his first Palace assist after a brief pause, slipping a fine pass for Ayew to turn in at the far post in the 72nd minute, the goal standing following a VAR check.
VAR was consulted a second time after Burnley substitute Vitinho got himself into trouble almost immediately after his 75th-minute introduction, brought down Franca inside the 18-yard box.
The penalty stood after the check and Mateta obligingly converted, sending Trafford the wrong way in the 79th minute.
Palace had conceded more goals in the final 15 minutes than any other side in the division, and nearly looked to have added to the unfortunate statistic when Fofana nodded past Sam Johnstone in the 88th minute.
Smith was called to the monitor and the hosts’ clean sheet restored – which they kept even after playing more than 13 minutes of added time.
Haaland endures Austria thrashing as Norway captain
Erling Haaland endured a miserable outing as Norway captain, with his goal-scoring exploits powerless in his side's 5-1 defeat to Austria in their Nations League encounter.
Haaland, standing in for injured skipper Martin Odegaard, watched on as his side suffered a second-half collapse at the Raiffeisen Arena.
The Manchester City striker became his nation's all-time top scorer with a brace in their 3-0 win over Slovenia, taking his total to 34 goals in 36 games, and threatened to add to that tally when he struck the post in the sixth minute.
However, a dominant start by the hosts was rewarded when Marko Arnautovic thundered his side in front in the eighth minute with a fierce effort off the crossbar.
However, Norway found themselves level six minutes before half-time when Alexander Sorloth headed Julian Ryerson's free-kick beyond the on-rushing Patrick Pentz.
Andreas Hanche-Olsen's foul on Christoph Baumgartner inside the box proved to be the beginning of the end for Norway, with Arnautovic stepping up to score the resulting penalty.
Austria increased their lead soon after through Philipp Lienhart's header, with Stefan Posch nodding the hosts 4-1 in front after being picked out at the back post by Marcel Sabitzer.
The rout was complete in the 71st minute, with Sabitzer again the architect, teeing up Michael Gregoritsch with yet another header to send Austria joint-top of Group B3.
Spalletti urges Italy to learn from Belgium mistake against Israel
Luciano Spalletti lauded Italy's spirit but warned his side must learn from their mistakes when they host Israel in Monday's Nations League clash.
Italy are top of their group, one point ahead of France, who smashed Israel 4-1 on Thursday.
Spalletti's side were held to a 2-2 draw with Belgium on the same day, throwing away an early two-goal lead after Lorenzo Pellegrini was dismissed for striking out at Arthur Theate.
The Azzurri manager referenced that error as Spalleti urged his side to use the Belgium draw as a learning curve.
"The team is working hard, sweating for the shirt, sacrificing themselves," the former Napoli head coach said at Sunday's press conference.
"The problem we learned from the last game is that in football one incident can ruin all the good work, so we must always learn from our mistakes."
Italy defeated Israel 2-1 in their first group-stage meeting thanks to goals from Davide Frattesi and Moise Kean in Budapest.
Spalletti expects another stern examination, however, as Israel aim to bounce back from their thrashing by France last time out.
"I don't know exactly who will start because it's a very delicate game with many hidden dangers," Spalletti added before confirming Guglielmo Vicario will start in goal instead of Gianluigi Donnarumma.
"Israel are a good team that can play football, so we have to keep our balance and organisation. I hope our team can take control of the game.
"Israel won't have the same attitude they showed against us or with France, as at times they sit deep and wait, at others they try to press you."
Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli will be pushing for a starting berth in Udine, though questions remain as to whether he can partner Torino's Samuele Ricci.
"Fagioli deserves more playing time and he is working hard, but this time I won't be able to give you too many hints on the line-up," continued Spalletti.
"He can play with Ricci, I gave him the role in front of the defence because I think it can suit him, but he must also know how to change tempo and direction, shake off man-marking and use the midfield like a trampoline to bounce the ball from one side to another."
Skinner compares 'immense and intense' Terland to Haaland
Erling Haaland may have hit unprecedented heights for Manchester City but Marc Skinner believes Manchester United have a similar talisman in Elisabeth Terland.
United boss Skinner likened Women's Super League star Terland to City's Premier League hero Haaland after the Norwegian scored twice in Sunday's 3-0 victory over Tottenham.
That marked her first two goals for United since joining from Brighton, having first blasted a volley home before looping another header over Becky Spencer.
Asked to describe Terland, Skinner said: "Intense in a good way. She is a person who is always focused, she doesn't dip off her focus whether it's pressing or whatever the task is, she's all in.
"I think she knows Haaland personally and I don't want to compare the two but the immense and intense action of both of them, that's how she performs."
Terland's heroics helped to ensure United's 100% record in the WSL this season stayed intact, with three wins and three clean sheets from three games.
The former Brighton forward, who found the net 13 times in the league last season, appeared all over the place against Spurs, attempting a game-high five shots with three of those on target.
Her two goals came from an expected goals tally of just 0.65, though, suggesting superior finishing from lower quality chances, something that will delight Skinner.
"I came to a club that wants to achieve big things. I know playing in a better team will make me better," Terland told Sky Sports.
"Part of my job is to score goals, it is great to get the first one for the club. A good win and I am proud of the team."
United finished fifth last campaign and lacked a regular scorer, with Nikita Parris finishing the term as the club's top scorer in the WSL with only eight goals.
Skinner knows the tide may now turn, however, with Terland firing up top.
"I just think she's an incredible talent," Skinner added.
"The beauty of her is I think she slows the moment and sees the opportunity under the most immense pressure."
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