Crystal Palace finished bottom of their group in the Como Cup, after their two games on Tuesday evening. 

A 3-0 defeat to RC Lens, with former Palace man Odsonne Edouard scoring a brace, was followed by a 0-0 draw to Portuguese side Famaliçao, Palace winning 5-4 via penalties. 

Those results confirm Palace’s bottom spot finish, and the final game in Italy will see them face one of either Al Ula, Como or Villarreal. 

I’m writing this from a balcony overlooking Lake Como, and I have to say watching these games in person was a really eye opening experience. 

Firstly, Pierre Sage demands a lot from his players. Whether he’s shouting at someone to press, make a run off the ball or win a duel, you can hear him constantly throughout the game. 

The style of play is also pretty clear to see too. Intense, high pressing which creates mistakes/overturns which should be exploited with fast movement off the ball.

Of course, it hasn’t worked particularly well over the last three fixtures, but it’s crucial to remember that across the two games at the Como Cup last night, only two players who featured will be starting for us consistently next season. 

Lens looked like a very well drilled outfit, a week ahead of Palace in their preparations and, more importantly, a very strong squad, almost close to full strength. 

They played like a team too, and moved the ball really well to expose Palace. Of course, former Palace man Edouard scoring twice made the defeat feel very ‘Palace’, but ultimately these games are not tests of levels, but instead tests of player fitness. 

Learning a new system is not easy, it took Oliver Glasner a good few weeks to implement his style and that was with a full strength squad at full fitness in the middle of a season. 

What was impressive was seeing the academy side hold out for a win via penalties against a side which finished fifth in the Portuguese top flight. 

David Ozoh stood out in this game, as did Dean Benamar who continues to impress. 

On the other side, Ismaelo Ganiou was absolutely excellent for Lens, and he’s a player that would be a simply excellent signing if possible. 

The reaction to some of the recent results on social media has been quite mindblowing. Pre-season is not about results, especially not in games where you have only 2-3 first team players. 

Until the remaining players return from their holidays after the World Cup and back to the squad, the results simply don’t matter, and even then until the Premier League season kicks off the same goes. 

In fact, pre-season results have little influence on the actual season itself. Palace have had strong pre-season campaigns and gone on to start the domestic season awfully, and vice versa. 

There seems to be a consistent sense with a proportion of Palace fans that the ‘off-season’ is a time exclusively for moaning and complaining. Transfers aren’t going well, results aren’t where you want them to be and there is an overwhelming sense of doom ahead of the new campaign. 

Dare I remind you those same conversations were being had last Summer, and the Summer before, and look what we went on to achieve in those seasons. 

There are three weeks until the new campaign kicks off, and over a month until the transfer window slams shut. There is plenty of time for things to change, and more importantly, plenty of time for Pierre Sage to get his full squad into training and start implementing his tactics properly.