Crystal Palace left it late to seal a dramatic 2-1 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday as Bakary Sako scored an 87th-minute winner on his Barclays Premier League debut.
Villa new-boy Adama Traore looked to have earned a share of the spoils on his bow in English football but Sako collected a pass from Scott Dann and finished superbly to seal maximum points for Alan Pardew's side.
In a clash that burst into life after the break, Pardew's men were initially frustrated when Dwight Gayle saw an effort ruled out for a deflection via the offside James McArthur.
There were no doubts when Dann opened the scoring, however, with a powerful header from a corner, only for former Barcelona starlet Traore to benefit from a Pape Soaure deflection after a tricky run down the right.
But it was Mali international Sako, signed in the close-season after an impressive spell with Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers, who stole the show.
Villa's Jordan Amavi coughed up possession before Sako produced a stunning finish to beat Brad Guzan as Palace claimed their second win of the Premier League season.
Jack Grealish and Rudy Gestede were two of three changes to Tim Sherwood's side and the pair combined down the right early on before striker Gestede failed to connect with an acrobatic effort inside the Palace area.
Palace saw penalty appeals turned down when Idrissa Gueye tangled with Wilfried Zaha before Jason Puncheon put the hosts' first sight on goal over the crossbar.
Chances continued to flow but Gabriel Agbonlahor could only manage to prod a tame effort at Alex McCarthy while Ashley Westwood's last-ditch lunge denied Zaha after a strong Glenn Murray run.
Villa's momentum was quelled somewhat by a water break in stifling south London heat, although Grealish's fierce drive needed tipping over by McCarthy after play resumed.
Both sides were thwarted by a lack of cutting edge prior to the interval and Pardew introduced Gayle and Jordon Mutch for Zaha and Murray to try and break the deadlock.
The former Peterborough United striker made his first contribution with a cross for Sako, Micah Richards and Guzan combining to deny the Mali international, before Gayle collected Yohan Cabaye's delivery and found the back of the net via McArthur.
The goal appeared to be allowed initially but the referee's assistant determined that McArthur was in an offside position and subsequently ruled it out.
But the home fans were soon back on their feet as Dann rose highest to thump Puncheon's left-wing corner beyond McCarthy.
Described by Sherwood as a combination of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo after arriving from Barcelona, Traore made good on that billing with a searing run through Palace's defence before his cut-back squirmed in off Souare.
But it was another debutant, Sako, who had the final say, curling home after Dann robbed Amavi deep in Villa territory.
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew: "We got a real grip in the second half. Villa were terrific today. Regarding the disallowed goal, Macca (James McArthur) was offside when Gayle's shot hit him. The referee got it spot on.
"We've seen the power of Sako in training. This guy has come in to score goals. This win is for Yannick."
Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood: "To lose it so late was disappointing. I thought we were very good in the first half. We scored the goal and came back into it.
"We saw a young player with no fear like Adama Traore. On the flip side you have young players that make mistakes and Jordan Amavi hasn't made many but he did today and has to learn from it."
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