Joel Ward hails Jefferson Lerma’s instant impact in Crystal Palace win | OneFootball

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ew Crystal Palace captain Joel Ward hailed the performance of debutant Jefferson Lerma after the Eagles beat Sheffield United in their Premier League opener, but felt his side could have scored five goals on another day.

Ward has been a Palace player for 11 years and was Roy Hodgson’s choice as Palace’s new captain after Luka Milivojevic left last month.

The 33-year-old led his side to a 1-0 win at Bramall Lane to get Palace off to a bright start. But Odsonne Edouard’s winning goal wasn’t the only encouraging sight for Palace fans.

“It was a solid performance from Jefferson”, Ward said. “He broke up the play, won his battles, and then his quality on the ball shone through as well. That was a key thing for us.”

Palace signed defensive midfielder Lerma for free in June after his contract at Bournemouth expired, and he was sharp against the Blades while winning 92 per cent of his aerial duels.

“It makes life a little bit easier when, as a team, we’re set, we’re structured and we’ve got a good foundation to build from”, Ward continued.

“On another day it could have been four or five, but it was a great start to what is an important season for us.”