As first impressions go, Oliver Glasner could hardly have had a better one in the eyes of Crystal Palace fans.
A 3-0 win over Burnley thanks to goals from the penalty spot from Chris Richards, Jordan Ayew and Jean-Phillippe Mateta launched the Austrian regime in style.
However, for long periods you wondered if some old problem (lack of goals) would cause Glasner to miss the three points.
But on an afternoon when it seemed the thick fog of gloom that had enveloped Selhurst Park in recent months was finally lifting, defender Richards was the man to score the goal with just over 20 minutes remaining.
The American’s header from Jordan Ayew’s cross finally broke Burnley’s 10-man resistance before goals from Ayew and Mateta capped a perfect start to Glasner’s life in English football.
The first impression is that Oliver Glasner could hardly have made a better impression on Saturday.
Crystal Palace ended a three-game winless streak by beating Burnley 3-0
The Clarets were reduced to 10 in the first half after Josh Brownhill was shown a straight red.
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Asked how Palace’s fortunes might turn after a run of two wins in 16 games, Glasner promised this week he would find a way to get the goals flowing, but joked he was “not David Copperfield”.
It seems the Austrian has already delved into his box of tricks to help the team that started the day as the Premier League’s second-worst scorers.
He hardly had to wait long for that opening goal as Burnley nearly hit the self-destruct button within the first 60 seconds.
A wild back pass from Dara O’Shea from inside his own half sent goalkeeper James Trafford back towards his goal. Trafford’s attempt to clear was in vain, but he was relieved to see the ball narrowly miss his goal. Jefferson Lerma shot just over the edge of the box from the resulting corner.
The hosts came close again after a well-worked set piece between Ayew and Adam Wharton saw the ball fall into the hands of Joachim Andersen. He fired through the crowd of yellow Burnley shirts but saw Trafford deflect his effort away from him.
The influence of 19-year-old Wharton, signed from Blackburn for £22.5m in January, only grew from there as he ran the show in just his fourth top-flight appearance. His cross picked out Odsonne Edouard, who Trafford brilliantly denied at his near post from close range.
But moments later, Trafford went from hero to zero. Trying to play from the back, as is Burnley’s style, Trafford sold Josh Brownhill with his pass.
That allowed Lerma, with momentum on his side, to pass the midfielder and steal the ball, only to be knocked to the ground by Brownhill.
Referee Lewis Smith had a difficult Premier League debut last weekend but this was the clearest decision he will make all season as he sent Brownhill for an early bath.
In the second half, it was Wharton who almost suffered the same fate. Already shown a yellow card, he pounced on Josh Cullen, also taking out Sande Berge in the process, and failed to win the ball. To the obvious fury of the Burnley bench, the youngster received nothing more than a severe reprimand from Smith.
Chris Richards opened the scoring at Selhurst Park with a header in the 68th minute.
Ayew doubled the lead moments later, although he had to wait after a VAR review.
Glasner turned to his bench for a spark and substitute Naouirou Ahamada almost provided it immediately, forcing Trafford into a smart save at his near post.
Finally the deadlock was broken when Ayew delivered a cross from the left which was met by a diving header from Richards.
From there, the hosts went on a rampage to condemn Burnley to another heavy defeat, their 19th in the league this season.
Ayew doubled the lead moments later, although he had to wait for it to stand after a lengthy VAR check to see if the goal would stand.
Burnley continued to throw bodies forward in desperation, but instead saw Smith award a penalty, which Mateta converted, as Vitinho brought down Franca.
Jean-Philippe Mateta sealed the victory for the Águilas with a penalty 11 minutes from time
Vincent Kompany has apologized to Burnley fans after his team continued their miserable form.
It seemed that David Datro Fofana had finally given the away fans something to cheer about, returning home within twelve minutes of injury time.
But to top off a completely miserable day for the Clarets, their goal was disallowed by VAR after Lorenz Assignon was ruled offside when he blocked goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.
There was really nothing that could spoil the feel-good atmosphere at Selhurst Park on an afternoon that belonged to Glasner and Palace.