Pierre Sage hasn’t had an ideal start to life as Crystal Palace manager.
The Eagles have lost two of their opening three Premier League matches, finally getting points on the board last time out against Fulham. They were beaten 2-0 by Everton in their first game, before falling 4-1 to Manchester City.
Some fans may have already been fearing the worst, particularly after an underwhelming transfer window. Those feelings may have been at their worst when Palace twice went behind against Fulham, before eventually coming back.
The question is, where do Palace stand at this early stage of Sage’s tenure? Should fans be rightly worried, or is there reason for optimism?
Crystal Palace’s worrying start:
Historically slow starts
While Crystal Palace laboured to their first win of the season in their third league game, Eagles fans have suffered much worse. There will be no Frank de Boer repeat for Sage. That remains Palace’s worst start to a season in the past 10 campaigns. It took Crystal Palace eight games to score their first league goal of the season, also sealing their first win by beating Chelsea 2-1.
The Eagles had an interesting record under Roy Hodgson, in both of his spells. Palace won their opening game of the season in three of Hodgson’s four campaigns. But in 2018/19 that brought their only three points from their first three matches. The following season, Palace had to wait until their third game for a first win, with four points in total. Palace’s best start to a Premier League season in the past 10 games came in 2020/21 when they won two of their opening three matches.
Crystal Palace’s starts to the past 10 Premier League seasons
| Season | Manager | Points after 3 PL games | Games for first PL win |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026/27 | Pierre Sage | 3 | 3 |
| 2025/26 | Oliver Glasner | 5 | 3 |
| 2024/25 | Oliver Glasner | 1 | 9 |
| 2023/24 | Roy Hodgson | 4 | 1 |
| 2022/23 | Patrick Vieira | 4 | 3 |
| 2021/22 | Patrick Vieira | 2 | 4 |
| 2020/21 | Roy Hodgson | 6 | 1 |
| 2019/20 | Roy Hodgson | 4 | 3 |
| 2018/19 | Roy Hodgson | 3 | 1 |
| 2017/18 | Frank de Boer | 0 | 8 |
Patrick Vieira didn’t get off to the best start in his first season at Palace with two draws and a defeat in his opening three matches. But he only needed one more match for a first victory. The following season, Vieira’s Palace took four points from their opening three games, winning the final one.
Then there’s the interesting case of Oliver Glasner. In his first full season as Palace manager, the Eagles didn’t win a Premier League game until Gameweek 9. It wasn’t quite full De Boer, as Glasner’s Palace had picked up a point along the way. But it was bad. And last season was Palace’s best start since 2020/21, with the Eagles taking five points from their opening three games. But even then they had to wait until the third match for a victory.
So Sage’s start may not be great on paper, but it does rank about average for Palace over the past 10 years.
Defensive worries
Onto the actual football, there are reasons for Palace fans to worry when it comes to their defence. The Eagles have the joint-worst defence in the Premier League this season, conceding eight goals. And the underlying numbers make it easy to see why they’re shipping so much.
Only Newcastle United (61) have conceded more shots than Crystal Palace’s 59 in the Premier League this season. The Eagles are also one of only three teams to have conceced 20+ shots on target, joined by Chelsea and Ipswich Town. But it’s the quality of the chances Palace are giving up that makes the difference.
Crystal Palace’s 7.19 Expected Goals Conceded is the highest in the Premier League this season, 0.79 more than any other club. They’ve been helped slightly by their opponents’ finishing, with 4.92 post-shot xG on target — but that’s still among the highest in the league.
A lack of possession has certainly played its part. The Eagles have averaged 40.57% possession in the Premier League this season, the third-lowest in the division. They’ve faced a whopping 63 sequences with 10+ passes against, and 243 sequences ending in the final third by their opponents.
Part of the reason for this will be where Palace do their pressing. The Eagles push high up the pitch to try to reclaim the ball, winning possession 15 times in the attacking third — the fifth-most in the division. They also rank around mid-table for their 57 possessions won in the defensive third. But it’s the lack of strength in the middle of the pitch that puts their defence in danger. Palace have won possession 38 times in the middle third this season, the third-lowest in the Premier League.
And when the defence has been breached, Dean Henderson hasn’t been able to keep the goals out. Despite making 12 saves — among the most in the league — Henderson ranks second-bottom for his -3.08 goals prevented.
Toothless attack
Things don’t look much better for Palace in their attack. The Eagles have taken 30 shots in the Premier League this season, with only three teams managing fewer. They’ve hit the target with 10 of those, scoring four — although one was an own goal. But they’re still proving wasteful in attack.
Palace have posted 3.25 xG this season, dropping to 2.21 post-shot xG. They’re lowering their chances of scoring based on ther placement of their shots. Again, it ranks them around mid-table with a -1.04 regression, with only eight teams improving on their xG to post-shot xG. But they are the joint-worst for 10 big chances missed.
Eddie Nketiah has been Palace’s biggest culprit for big chances missed, with three to date. In fact, only two players in the Premier League have missed more big chances than the Palace striker. Nketiah has missed one chance in all three of his league appearances, including one worth 0.31 xG against Fulham last time out. The Englishman leads Palace with his 0.85 xG this season but that drops to 0.52 post-shot xG. And he’s yet to score.
Instead, Crystal Palace have had to rely on left-backs and a goalkeeper for their four league goals this. Tyrick Mitchell is Palace’s top scorer with two league goals this season, already packing his best return in a single campaign. Ben Chilwell is the only other Palace player to score a league goal this season, with Gianluigi Donnarumma putting into his own net in the 4-1 defeat to Man City.