Sarr delighted with big impact at Villa
Ismaïla Sarr was delighted to produce his first Premier League goal and assist for Crystal Palace in Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Aston Villa.
The summer signing raced away just a few minutes into the match at Villa Park, slotting the ball beyond Emiliano Martínez, before leading a counter-charge and teeing up Justin Devenny for his first Palace goal on the stroke of half-time.
In the end, Palace were denied all three points as Villa mounted a late charge – but Sarr says the Eagles, although they wanted to win, can be satisfied with their overall day’s work.
“I'm happy for the team,” the Senegal forward told Palace TV. “This game is good, but it was a hard game.
“[It was] 2-2 – we needed to win today. But I'm happy for the team, the manager, the fans – it’s good.
“Today I scored, and I'm happy to score and assist. It's my first goal [in the Premier League for Palace], but I need to score every game!
“But I'm working for the team, for the club, and the fans who come to every game. I'm working hard on the training ground. This game, for the fans, the team, was good.
“I'm not going to stop now. I’ll keep going now for the next game.”
On Devenny, Sarr smiled: “I'm happy for him! His first goal in the Premier League, I'm happy for him. Me too, I'm happy it's my [first Premier League] goal [for Palace]. We need to win today, but it’s okay – next time!”
And on goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who saved a penalty mere moments before Devenny’s strike, Sarr smiled: “I'm happy for him – thank you, bro! He's a very, very good goalkeeper.”