'It could be a tricky debut season for Sage'

Pierre Sage, welcome to the Premier League and the fine margins that can swing a game.

Looking down at the French football manager in the second half, he was rubbing his chin with his hand after making a couple of substitutions to try to rescue something from a game that started so brightly for Crystal Palace.

He’s the new man in charge, but he has an old problem to solve. How to get his team to finish off the many chances they create. They were on top early on. Jean-Philippe Mateta, Eddie Nketiah and Daniel Munoz all had more than decent chances that could have easily found the net. But once Everton exerted control then the chances disappeared.

The second half saw Palace offer very little threat and Sage said “we gave up a little”. They were missing the quality of their top scorer last season, Ismaila Sarr, who didn’t travel amid the links with a move to Galatasaray. With the loss of Maxence Lacroix in defence, it could be a tricky debut season for Sage if more signings don’t arrive before the deadline.