Talking points from Brentford 2 Crystal Palace 1 – Eagles lack magic after Olise departure as Glasner’s side get up to speed after hectic summer

Crystal Palace kicked off their 2024-25 Premier League campaign with a 2-1 defeat at Brentford on Sunday.

The Bees took the lead in the first half when Bryan Mbuemo squared up to Marc Guehi and cut the ball on to his left foot to curl beyond Dean Henderson.

Palace equalised at the start of the second half when Daniel Munoz forced Ethan Pinnock to turn the ball into his own net.

But Yoane Wissa won it with 14 minutes of normal time left to play to end Palace’s seven-game Premier League unbeaten run.

Here are Edmund Brack’s talking points from the match.

LACK OF MAGIC TO REPLACE MICHAEL OLISE

Palace were never going to be able to totally replace Michael Olise after he chose to leave this summer to join German giants Bayern Munich.

Ismalia Sarr and Daichi Kamada have come in to add attacking firepower and while Glasner might say in his press conferences that he is happy with the attacking midfielders at his disposal, Sunday’s defeat shows there is still a distinct lack of magic in the squad.

Eberechi Eze, who is still getting up to speed after missing the first few weeks of pre-season due to his involvement in Gareth Southgate’s England Euro 2024 squad, was partnered by Daichi Kamada.

While the pair exchanged nice passes and Eze’s true rhythm of driving forward with the ball only came in the second half, it is unclear who is going to take the match-winner mantle that Olise carried in the final weeks of last season.

Palace attempted 16 dribbles at the Gtech Community Stadium but only completed one as they struggled to break down a stubborn defence.

Glasner’s side did go closer at points in the second half, Adam Wharton tested Mark Flekken from the edge of the box, but there was never that anticipation of gaining all three points from the game – something that was rife during the final seven games of last season with Eze and Olise in full flow.

STILL GETTING UP TO SPEED AFTER A HECTIC SUMMER

It is probably necessary to take into account that Palace only welcomed back key man Jean-Philippe Mateta last week.

The striker returned to the UK on Wednesday after starring for Thierry Henry’s France side in this summer’s Olympic Games – winning silver after a final defeat against Spain.

Mateta was just one of nine senior Palace players who competed at major tournaments this summer, with Palace having finalists in the European Championships, Copa America and the Olympic Games.

Jefferson Lerma and Daniel Munoz arrived back midway into pre-season after playing key roles in helping Colombia reach the final of the Copa America, where they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Argentina.

Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze were given extra time off and arrived back after the club’s tour of the USA due to their involvement in helping England get to the final of the Euros.

Joachim Andersen, Adam Wharton and Dean Henderson also missed the first few weeks of training after being on Euros duty.

The squad is still getting up to speed with each other and could take a few weeks to gel into the groove of Glasner’s high-tempo style of play.

DAICHI KAMADA’S DEBUT

Daichi Kamada was thrust straight into a starting role by former Eintracht Frankfurt boss Glasner.

The Japanese international attacker set the tone with Palace’s press and showed early on why the Austrian manager was so keen to bring him in following his Lazio exit.

Kamada linked up well with Eze and Mateta early on – the first time all three had featured together in a competitive match.

He pressed Flekken into an early mistake – charging down the Bees stopper to give the ball away to Eze on the edge of the box. The Greenwich-born playmaker was brought down for a free-kick opportunity, which was dragged just wide.

Kamada produced intelligent work in and around the box, making a handful of really clever runs and passing moves that were not spotted by his team-mates.

But for the system to work with overlapping full-backs, Palace need a left-footed attacking player to cut in and create havoc alongside Eze on the other flank.

It is going to take time to adapt to life without Olise, but Kamada is a shrewd acquisition.

TYRICK MITCHELL FOR ENGLAND?

While four Crystal Palace players made the cut for Gareth Southgate’s final 26-man England squad, the omission of Tyrick Mitchell, given Luke Shaw’s injury problems, raised some eyebrows.

The 24-year-old nearly got his season off to a perfect start when he flashed an effort across goal in the fifth minute after travelling forward from his left wing-back role.

Mitchell would have had another sight of goal minutes later if Eze had seen the Brent-born defender overlapping instead of shooting into a crowd of Brentford bodies.

The former Bees academy defender played a key role in Palace’s equaliser – crossing to the back post for Munoz to head back across goal for Pinnock to deflect the ball past Flekken.

Palace will look to bring in additional cover in Mitchell’s position before the window closes – Robin Gosens from Union Berlin is a name under consideration – but if he can keep up his attacking returns and his place in Glasner’s side at the end of the window, he could be in Lee Carsley’s first England squad for the Nations League in September.

ODSONNE EDOUARD’S FUTURE

Odsonne Edouard looked surplus to requirements at the end of last season.

The former Celtic forward’s minutes were limited due to Mateta’s world-class form – which was carried over into the Olympic Games this summer.

But Edouard replaced Mateta for the second half at Brentford and brought pace to the frontline.

He was also caught offside in a key moment when Eze picked up the ball on the counter-attack and played through the ex-PSG youngster.

Palace were keen to cash in on the 26-year-old at the start of the window and valued him at £20million. Now he looks set to stay and head into the final two years of his deal.