In a final short on clear-cut chances, one goal always looked likely to settle the contest – and it arrived through Jean-Philippe Mateta after an Adam Wharton effort was spilled inside the area.
Asked whether he expected such a tight and scrappy encounter, Lacroix said: “Yes, of course. We knew they were a good team in transition, but we blocked them.
“Defensively, we were at the top and they didn’t shoot a lot, so we did our job – and we scored a beautiful goal.”
Mateta’s finish sparked wild celebrations among the sea of red and blue on the south side of the Leipzig Stadium, with a host of Palace players racing over to recreate the striker’s now-iconic corner-flag celebration.
Lacroix, though, insisted there is only one man who can truly pull it off.
“I saw it,” he laughed. “They can’t do it better than him.”