How we rated the Irons against Palace

Niall McDonald hands out the marks

Roberto: Resounding cheers for his first catch after 22 mins and first save on 41; excellent distribution, no disasters – a positive home debut 6

Fredericks: Attacked with purpose before the break, covering the entire right-side on his own most of the time 7

Diop: Palace carried very little threat and Diop was often left covering empty space behind Ogbonna 6

Ogbonna: Will be very frustrated having prevented Ayew from having any impact at all before the late winner 7

Cresswell: Defended with discipline against Zaha, ably supported by Anderson 6

Rice: Streets ahead of one of his predecessors Kouyate – not sure if the handball was careless or unavoidable but these days it’s a penalty either way 6

Noble: Our slower, more patient style of football certainly suits the skipper; lack of pace less of an issue these days 7

Lanzini: A busy start, dropping deep to collect the ball and looking to create; I wonder if he’s still not fully match-fit 6
Yarmolenko: Another strong display, was a shame he was subbed as we missed his impetus up-front 7

Anderson: Standout player for me today; getting better with every game 8

Haller: Made up for a quiet first-half by putting away the finest team goal I think I’ve seen us score 6

Subs
Fornals: Not at the same level as Lanzini, but I think Pellegrini’s doing the right thing keeping him involved and getting minutes under his belt 5

Wilshere: Looked a little exposed as the game opened up and found no runners around him; 2 deft pieces of skill nearly created good chances 5

Zabaleta: A late, no-nonsense cameo 5