Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner praised the performance of 19-year-old defender Jaydee Canvot after he helped the Eagles to a clean sheet on his full Premier League debut against Brighton.
A game of few talking points finished goalless between the two rivals at Selhurst Park but the summer signing from Toulouse, who started in place of the injured Marc Guehi, made a solid start to life in the top flight.
England defender Guehi suffered a bruised bone in his foot in the final moments of Thursday’s Conference League win over AZ Alkmaar and will miss the upcoming internationals against Serbia and Albania.
Glasner was hopeful the 25-year-old will be available when club fixtures resume in two weeks’ time, but in the meantime he was satisfied with the contribution from stand-in Canvot.
“We trust every player in our squad,” he said. “Jaydee replaced him and I think he had a very good game. The whole team really defended well, it was a very intense game, Brighton have a lot of pace in their attack. I think it’s a fair result.”
Canvot’s only previous appearances had come in cup competitions, with mixed fortunes. He was at fault for the only goal when Palace were beaten at home by AEK Larnaca in Europe, but turned in an impressive display in the 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Liverpool at Anfield.
“He had an excellent game at Liverpool,” said Glasner. “I see him in training, I know what he can do. He has pace, he’s tall. We have to work with his heading. He’s comfortable in the build-up.
“That’s why we signed hm. We’re giving him time, step by step, helping him become the best Jaydee he can.
“When you are 19 and you get your debut in the Premier League, you should be delighted. His dream has come true and that’s what he showed.”
Glasner confirmed that Guehi is on crutches following what was a painful injury on Thursday.
“During the night he couldn’t sleep, he was in huge pain. We had huge concerns he had a fracture, but he hasn’t.
“He can’t walk, he’s on crutches. If the national team wants to see him he’ll arrive on his crutches and they’ll send him home.
“We hope he’s be back after the international break. At the moment he can’t step on his foot.”
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler said he was yet to watch back an incident in the second half when Georginio Rutter was booked for simulation inside the Palace box.
The referee initially awarded a penalty before rescinding after a VAR check and sanctioning Rutter.
“In the first half there were lots of little fouls like that,” he said. “I can’t comment because I haven’t seen it. In the end, VAR made the decision to give the penalty back.
“It’s a point we deserved, maybe we deserved more.
“I don’t know if you can be tired in a derby. I wouldn’t say it’s a missed opportunity for that reason, but we missed chances and we were the better team.”
