Crystal Palace played their first knockout game of the new season as they hosted Championship side Middlesbrough in the third round of the Carabao Cup. 

Despite a difficult first half against an intense opposition, Palace ran out 3-0 winners via a Jørgen Strand Larsen brace and a dink from Daichi Kamada to round off a dominating win. 

Palace will enter the fourth round draw which takes place after next week’s round three ties are concluded. 

Whilst the scoreline is one which looks like a dominating win, the game itself showed further signs of teething issues. Palace continued to concede large numbers of touches in the box, and Boro’s lack of quality in finishing let Pierre Sage’s side off the hook on a number of occasions. 

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Sage said that it would probably take a few more games for the style to be fully implemented and for the squad to play in the way he visions naturally. 

Sage made seven changes to the starting XI that beat Fulham 3-2 at the weekend, and the first half showed signs of a team not familiar with playing alongside one another. 

There were some bright sparks throughout thought. 

Jørgen Strand Larsen put in an excellent display leading the line, taking both of his goals exceptionally and setting up the third. 

Honest Ahanor was tentative at first but grew into the game immensely. His defensive performance was top, and his ball progression and carrying played a huge role in Sage’s system settling in. It would be unsurprising to see him feature going forward. 

The midfield was bypassed far too easily, and the lack of control saw Boro break through the Palace side towards the box with little difficulty. 

Quinten Timber struggled with the pace of the game at times and will need to settle into the demands of English football soon. 

There were moments that demonstrated just how excellent Sage ball can be, and the chance that fell to Will Hughes was potentially the best example of that. The way Palace carved through Boro, from front to back in a matter of seconds was deeply impressive, and if Sage can get his side to play like that more consistently, Palace could be a problem for lots of teams. 

After the game, Sage spoke to Palace TV about his second win in the opening four games of the season. Once again, he didn’t shy away from the realities of his side’s performance. 

“I’m happy with the result and happy with the fact that we made a better second half in the play because in the first half we didn’t take much initiative, and I think the first time we played it was the first goal. We are able to play like this and sometimes I don’t understand why we don’t do it so much but with this kind of situation, a lot of passes and a goal, the players will gain confidence and do it more.”

The result felt like exactly that, a confidence booster. Following the nature of last weekend’s win at Fulham, this win feels like it could be the continuation of a positive run of results for the club. 

Palace also kept their first clean sheet of the season, a flaw which had been questioned in recent weeks. 

“Yes, happy with a clean sheet,” Sage said. “They had big opportunities at the end but they missed, maybe because we put pressure on this situation, it’s the first time for us in an official game so it’s important.”

Sage was asked about the players coming into the side, and why he felt there may have been a delay in them getting up to speed. 

“I don’t think they need time to understand because we train all together, but they need time to coordinate themselves on the pitch, so it’s difficult when you move many players. That’s why I kept four from the last game and it was not too much at the end, it’s one of the explanations of why we didn't play too well in the first half.”

The striking situation has become a topic of conversation in recent weeks, and with Mateta out for a few weeks to come, the competition between Eddie Nketiah and Strand Larsen is offering the pair a great chance to impress Sage and solidify their place in the starting XI. 

Sage praised Strand Larsen’s player of the match performance, as the Norwegian made a strong claim to start at the weekend against Ipswich. 

“Two goals and one assist was really great for him. He fought a lot in the last games without scoring but he is important in the play, in the space we freed, that’s why today is for him and it’s a positive.”

Palace will play in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup as Sage continues to push for success on all fronts.