Best feet forward : Picture by @YTJourno
**UEFA Conference League MD 3**
**Crystal Palace (2) 3** Lacroix 22, Sarr 45+4, 57
**AZ Alkmaar (0) 1** Mijnans 54
Palace reasserted their grip on proceedings in the Conference League with a dominant win over Dutch side AZ to make it two wins from three games in the competition - leaving them in a good position to go on and claim a top eight place which would see them fast-track into the knockouts.
They could afford to miss a first-half penalty and a host of chances, such was their overall control of of the contest and they will go into Sunday's feisty M23 derby against Brighton in good spirits.
Ismaila Sarr bagged two goals and could easily have had a hat-trick as he tormented Alkmaar's defence mercilessly before being withdrawn from the action midway through the second half.
The Eagles were eager to avoid a repeat of their powder-puff display in the last tie at home to Larnaca - in which they fell to a shock 1-0 defeat - and showed intent from the off against a side who may be riding high in the Dutch Eredivisie, but who were also flattened 4-0 by Larnaca in their first Conference tie.
Sarr quickly set the tone. He crashed a volley against the base of a post after Chris Richards had headed a floated Yeremy Pino free-kick back across goal and in the next attack, the striker's bid to get around keeper Rome-Jayden Owusu-Odouro was thwarted by the stopper's trailing leg and ref Daniele Chiffi awarded a spot-kick after VAR ruled out an offside in the build up.
Jean-Philippe Mateta seemed to take an age over his kick before planting a weak shot low to the keeper's left which was easily blocked. Maybe he has decided to save it all up for the visit of the Seagulls at the weekend.
The fluffed chance did not seem to matter, as the chances kept coming. Sarr brought a flying save from the overworked Owusu-Odouro to keep out his goalbound header and from the follow-up, Will Hughes sent a dipping angled shot against the crossbar.
Something had to give and Maxence Lacroix deservedly broke the deadlock when he rifled into the net through a crowd of players.
Not that the moment led to spontaneous joy. A linesman's raised flag meant a long interval as the videos were checked and double checked before the goal was confirmed.
Dean Henderson did not have a great deal to do - apart from making sure a well-struck effort from ex-Spurs man Troy Parrott did not get past him - and when Sarr stabbed home just before the interval after a spot of head tennis inside the AZ box following another of those floated free-kicks, the game had a scoreline which better reflected Palace's superiority.
AZ skipper Sven Mijnans thought he's got his side back into the contest with a goal early in the second half - his shot inside the area deflecting off Dan Munoz to beat Henderson.
But within a couple of minutes, the two-goal cushion was restored as Sarr raced onto a fine Mateta pass through the middle to rattle home.
Mateta should have added a fourth after charging though a high line from halfway but his final shot was off target and it perhaps summed up a night in which many more chances were spurned than snapped up.
By the end, AZ had joined in with the profligacy, with sub Isak Jensen somehow sending a close-range header wide when it looked easier to score.
Alkmaar were far more open than Larnaca had been and had much more of the ball than the low-block Cypriots did, but that suited Oliver Glasner's men down to the ground. They can expect a tougher examination at the weekend.
**Eagles:** (3-4-2-1) Henderson - Richards, Lacroix, Guehi - Munoz (Clyne 86), Hughes (Wharton 65), Lerma, Mitchell - Sarr (Kamada 65), Pino (Devenny 72) - Mateta (Uche 86)
**Az:** (4-3-3) Owusu-Odouro - Dijkstra (de Wit 62), Goes, Penetra, Chavez - Koopmeiners (Dekker 80), Mijnans, Smit (Boogaard 80) - Wesley Patati (Jensen 61), Parrott (Zeefuik 74), Sadiq