Crystal Palace sink 10-man Burnley to give Oliver Glasner a winning start | first division

Crystal Palace stood in darkness, staring at the horizon. Would there ever be a ray of light? Would black ever turn to grey? When dawn finally came, it suddenly became a glorious morning. There may have been a slightly unreal feeling about it, but it was very welcome after the persistent drizzle of the last few months.

The truth, however, is that Palace will face few sides that collapse as abjectly as Burnley He did it and that, for a long time, the sunlight did not convince. Without Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise, this is simply not a creative team, but they had more than enough to overcome a hobbled Burnley side who are now eight points from safety and surely doomed. Palace, eight points above the relegation zone and with two of the teams below them facing potential points deductions, should be safe.

When asked about his philosophy, Oliver Glasner replied that he wanted to score goals because the fans liked that. And his team finally did, although the minutes between Josh Brownhill's red card and Chris Richards' first goal were evidence of this team's limitations. Jordan Ayew's fourth goal of the season and a Jean-Philippe Mateta penalty clinched the match.

Sam Allardyce, Frank de Boer, Roy Hodgson, Patrick Vieira, Roy Hodgson, Oliver Glasner …the pattern has been clear for Palace, as they have alternated between the stolidly English and the passionately continental. But this dip into the bold waters of foreign sophistication may be less risky than the two previous dips. De Boer had triumphed in the idiosyncratic environment of Ajax before failing at Inter, while Vieira's time in Nice was mixed. Glasner, however, has had much more consistent success at Lask, Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, elevating mid-table clubs to challenges on the fringes of the elite, which, frankly, sounds perfect for a base of fans irritated by the boredom of simply existing in the First Division.

As his name was announced with a welcoming roar before kickoff, Glasner casually passed a water bottle around his technical area until it stopped, dead weight, against a group of energy drinks. That turned out to be the most accurate pass of a patchy first 30 minutes played almost entirely in the Burnley half.

Apart from a close-range header from Odsonne Édouard which James Trafford saved with a strong reflex save, Palace had created very few clear-cut chances. But against Burnley this season all you have to do is wait. Ten minutes before half-time, Trafford's ill-conceived pass was intercepted by Jefferson Lerma, who was then brought down by a panicked Brownhill. The red card was too obvious for anyone to protest; Brownhill stayed on the sideline in case VAR could find a reason to forgive him, but Vincent Kompany is no more David Copperfield than Glasner and the decision was upheld.

Glasner insisted he had no part in selecting the team for Monday's 1-1 draw at Everton, making it notable that Palace adopted the 3-4-2-1 shape he preferred for much of his time at Eintracht, the The first time Palace had deployed a back three in the league since August 2022. It was a 3-4-2-1 again and what was notable was how Lerma and Ayew thrived in it, enjoying the freedom to interchange.

Ayew, having been a player who seemed unable to make the most of his talent, always making poor decisions, has matured into one of Palace's most consistent players in recent seasons. It was his shot that found Richards unmarked at the far post to break the deadlock, and he then reached the far post to finish off Matheus França's cross. França, signed for £16m from Flamengo in the summer, has barely played since but it was his run of form that led to a tough penalty decision against Vitinho and Palace's third.

There is still plenty of room for improvement and no one should be judged after a game against a 10-man team that will surely be relegated, but no one would turn down a 3-0 win in their first game either. The Glasner era is underway.