On the Blades’ return to the top flight, the joyous atmosphere at Bramall Lane was succumbed by Roy Hodgson’s side.
The game saw just the one goal falling for the away side, as Odsonne Édouard tapped in a low cross from the right from Jordan Ayew.
The Frenchman opened his tally in the 49th minute in a game that was undoubtedly dominated by the London-based outfit.
There were many reasons as to why the Eagles were able to see out this game on the opening weekend of Premier League football, which leads us to our first takeaway from today’s action in South Yorkshire:
Jefferson Lerma was a revelation in Palace’s midfield
The 28-year-old made his debut for the club after signing from fellow Premier League side Bournemouth on a free transfer.
The holding midfielder arrived at Selhurst Park with guaranteed Premier League pedigree, and the Colombian certainly didn’t disappoint.
Lerma was able to control the tempo in the game, which led to the away side having an impressive 68% possession.
540 passes were recorded by the South London club, with 68 of these made by the Colombian. The former Bournemouth man also made his presence known in the centre, winning 12 aerial battles in the 90 minutes.
Lerma was able to offer a third dimension to Palace, not only when defending, but also when the away side were on the front foot; something that was recognised by manager Roy Hodgson.
“He was really, really good. He was everywhere. All over the field, his defensive work was excellent and he was also very good going forward,” said Hodgson.
The arrival of Gustavo Hamer for the Blades was needed now more than ever
The tale of the game at Bramall Lane was Sheffield United were outplayed on home soil, with the hosts seeing less than a third of the ball, which could be put down to the impressive debut of Jefferson Lerma.
However, United can only point the blame towards themselves when looking at the near-abysmal stat of a lowly 62% pass accuracy.
The red side of Sheffield have had the core of their side taken away with Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge moving for pastures new, whilst Manchester City loanees Tommy Doyle and James McAtee returned to their parent club.
However, the highly anticipated arrival of Gustavo Hamer from Coventry City will revolutionise their midfield. The Brazilian, who led the midlands-based club to the Championship Play-Off final, impressed in the last campaign with 19 goal contributions from the centre of the park.
It is expected that Hamer will be the heart of this new look Blades side, and if he was available for today’s game, the difference may have been massive.
Palace’s Eberechi Eze has a massive season ahead of him
Hodgson’s side are without club legend Wilfried Zaha, after the African attacker joined Turkish giants Galatasaray at the end of his contract.
With Hodgson having both Eze and Michael Olise at the helm; on paper, the departure of Zaha will not be a massive hindrance to the side.
However, the latter is set to have a considerable spell on the sidelines due to injury, meaning Palace will rely on Eze to create chances for the front three.
The former QPR midfielder had an impressive 22/23 season; scoring ten, whilst also contributing four assists.
After playing a full 90 minutes today, he has the chance to become the South London club’s star man.
Sheffield United still need new players through the door
Today's game showed that the Blades do not quite have the squad depth to compete at this point in the season.
A total of four academy players were named on the bench in today’s Premier League fixture, two of which were called upon to make a difference in the game.
There was a clear gulf in quality between the two sides today, as shown by the domination shown by Palace away from home.
Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom has emphasised the importance of new signings before the end of the summer transfer window.
“We need to start getting bodies in and we will do. We've sold players so we've got the money to spend, we want to spend it,” said Heckingbottom.
Despite the needed addition of Hamer in midfield, options do still look light and this will have to be prioritised for Sheffield United.
