Crystal Palace soared to victory this afternoon after defeating Aston Villa 3-1 in front of a raucous home crowd at Selhurst Park.
The Eagles conceded in the first five minutes following some swift interplay between Villa's Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins, with the English striker slotting the ball into the net.
Palace were very quick to fight back however, with star man Wilfried Zaha equalising just two minutes later with a trademark Zaha finish.
The Ivorian glided through Villa's defence after an inch-perfect knock-on from Palace's striker Odsonne Edouard.
Despite Jeffery Schlupp's controversially disallowed goal, Palace made easy work of Steven Gerrard's side in the second half.
VAR played to Palace's favour with the Eagles being awarded a penalty following a Lucas Digne handball. While Zaha missed the initial penalty, he coolly placed the rebound passed Martinez to edge his side ahead 2-1.
Palace finished off a stylish performance with a first-touch finish from super sub Jean-Philippe Mateta following a perfectly guided cross from Tyrick Mitchell.
Following the match, Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira told the BBC that he was 'really pleased [and] really delighted' following Palace's first three-points of the new Premier League season.
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Palace's Fight
After conceding an early goal in an important fixture fort the Eagles, Palace showed incredible spirit and determination to ensure victory.
Palace equalised quickly, showing the strength of mentality in Vieira's squad.
"It was important to try and answer [back] straight away", Vieira notes, "We scored that goal quite early that allowed us to get back into the game.
"Overall I think we had a really good performance. We were really up for it. I was really pleased".
Palace showed a similar fight last weekend against Liverpool, with the south London club putting up a near-perfect defensive display to earn a deserved point against the recent Premier League and Champions League victors.
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Zaha's Performance
As is often the case, Wilfried Zaha was Palace's difference maker today.
The winger scored the early equaliser and scored from Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez's parry following Zaha's unconverted penalty.
Vieira was filled with praise for his sides' main attacking threat, with Vieira noting how Zaha is often the target for Palace's opposition.
"The quality of [Zaha's] talent make it really difficult for opponents. Sometimes they will target him like they did today.
"I would want him to be more calm, but this is at times really difficult. The situation with the referee was really good today, it allowed him to stay in the game and allowed him to play as well as he did today".
"I loved his performance. I don't want him to change. He's a fighter. He's tough and will pull his sleeves up and go into the fight.
Vieira also noted how much influence Zaha has on the side other than his frequent goals, praising his defensive work-rate which often goes under the radar.
"Today he was really good, really good for the team. He worked well, he defended well from the front which allowed us to win the ball high up the field and create these chances".
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Eze's Mystifying Performance
Zaha was not the only stand-out for Palace this afternoon, with Eberechi Eze receiving plenty of praise from his manager.
Eze helped make Palace tick against Villa. With his constant progressive passing, successful dribbling and chance creation, Eze reminded Palace fans (and potentially England managers too) exactly what he can provide for the Eagles this season.
"Ebs is getting better and better. I think when the team plays like that, it allowed him to show his quality.
"He loves the game, he's a football player. He loves the ball at his feet. Today was his best performance since he came back [from injury]".
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VAR Controversy
Palace had a complicated relationship with VAR this afternoon.
While their would-be second goal was disallowed for a marginal offside from Odsonne Edouard, Palace were on the receiving end of some fortune when Villa's Lucas Digne conceded a penalty for handball.
Vieira was surprisingly sympathetic to the VAR officials, who have come under scrutiny yet again following Mike Dean's failure to send Tottenham centre back Cristian Romero off pulling the hair of Chelsea's Marc Cucurella in the feisty affair at Stamford Bridge last weekend.
"The refs don't have a choice but to follow the rules. It's the rules, even if it's just a shoulder that is offside. It's a difficult one to take.
"We have to accept it. But we didn't give up, we came back with a lot of evergy. It was a well-deserved victory today".
Palace fans considered this game a must-win of they were to progress this season.
With tough fixtures already behind them and another tough fixture next weekend away at Manchester City, Vieira will be very happy with the start his Crystal Palace team have had to this Premier League season.