Crystal Palace 3-2 Wolves: Goals from Odsonne Edouard and Eberechi Eze see the Eagles squeeze past Gary O’Neil’s spirited side at Selhurst Park

The match pickers at Sky Sports may have run out of nails, but all’s well that ends well.

Social media was in an uproar that Liverpool and Aston Villa had been rejected by the broadcaster over this supposedly less sexy battle at Selhurst Park. Although it threatened to be the Premier League’s first 0-0 this season as we approached the hour without a goal, those in attendance were treated to a breathless final half hour.

Five goals in total, three for Crystal Palace, two for Wolves, and a performance from Roy Hodgson’s team that suggested they have the resources needed to score goals this season.

Hodgson did not sign a replacement for Wilfried Zaha in the summer period, but Odsonne Edouard scored twice in this win. Eberechi Eze scored his first goal of the season. Jean-Philippe Mateta got two assists as a substitute.

We all thought they would sign a striker in the summer. They didn’t, instead bringing in goalkeeper Dean Henderson and defender Rob Holding towards the end of the window.

Still, their attackers showed what they’re capable of here, with Eze being his usual electric self.

In the 13th minute, Eze skinned three Wolves men as he waltzed into the penalty area. When he defeated a fourth man in Joao Gomes, he fell down.

At first it seemed that Eze had made a meal of the challenge. However, images showed that Gomes was standing on his foot. VAR Stuart Attwell watched replay after replay until he concluded there wasn’t enough in it for an on-pitch assessment by referee Robert Jones.

Palace should have scored the opening goal of the game in the 16th minute. Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa’s attempt to pass out from behind was criminal. The ball was intercepted by Jefferson Lerma, who squared off to Jordan Ayew. With the goal at his mercy, Ayew’s tame finish gave Wolves captain Maximilian Kilman the chance to come back and clear off the line.

Edouard then cut Kilman’s clearance rebound into the stands. You had to wonder what Mateta, who scored a mid-week hat-trick against Plymouth in the Carabao Cup, was thinking as he sat amongst the substitutes.

Similarly, Sasa Kalajdzic, the six-foot striker who scored Wolves’ winner against Everton, must have wished he was on the pitch. The visitors had more possession than Palace, but their game plan often saw them resort to a hopeful cross into the penalty area. Still, Kalajdzic sat on the bench and hit his head against the roof of the dugout instead of jumping into the box.

Before the break, Pedro Neto attempted a series of step-overs before forcing Sam Johnstone to tip over. Goalless at half-time, the Palace players came in knowing they’d seen greater chances of scoring if only one of their forwards could add the finishing touch.

Finally, in the 56th minute, they got it. Tyrick Mitchell scored an excellent cross and Edouard toured the ball into goal, Kilman having lost his man at the front post. Selhurst Park erupted as their team took a 1-0 lead.

However, their celebration did not last long. Less than 10 minutes later it was 1-1. Hwang Hee-Chan had only just taken the field, but he met Neto’s free kick from the left wing, sending his header past Johnstone into the net.

That is now ten Premier League goals for Hwang in a Wolves shirt, five of them as a substitute. Norman Bell, that famous supersub, would agree.

Palace went looking for a late winner. Sa was needed to deny Ayew’s volley and then Eze’s rocket from a free kick from 30 yards out. The Wolves goalkeeper did well.

But when Mateta assisted Joel Ward’s long pass, Eze broke through. Under pressure from markings, he poked the ball into the goal after 78 minutes: 2-1.

In the 84th minute it was 3-1. Thanks to a nice build-up from Palace, Mateta pushed the ball into Edouard, who found the bottom corner.

In the sixth minute of stoppage time it became 3-2 when Matheus Cunha headed in a Neto cross. It was too little and too late for a comeback.