Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce was full of praise for Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho after he shone on his Eagles debut against Middlesbrough.
The Frenchman made his first start since joining Palace on loan on deadline day, as he came in for Damien Delaney at the heart of the Eagles defence.
And Allardyce described it as a "commanding" display from Sakho, adding that he was pleasantly surprised that he lasted the full 90 minutes on his first Premier League appearance of the season.
"Very nice. I think it is his first competitive game this season, but we have worked on his fitness and he accepted he had to do a bit extra work," said Allardyce
"But his experience and composure today was there and he was very commanding in that position.
"I wasn't sure if he would last the whole game, but he did and we needed him today.
"He helped to set up attacks by getting hold of the ball, bringing it down and looking up, which created opportunities going forward.
"The full-backs created a lot of opportunities for the wide men and put pressure on them.
"They [Middlesbrough] surprised us with a back three, but we took full advantage of that."
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