Pierre Sage bemoaned Crystal Palace’s “low energy” in their heavy defeat to Manchester City.
The Eagles were thrashed 4-1 by Enzo Maresca’s side at Selhurst Park, with Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland both scoring braces as City moved to the top of the table.
Palace, meanwhile, are now rock bottom after two consecutive losses, with their only goal this season coming via the back of Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Sage has seen one of his teams concede four goals in a game for only the second time in his managerial career, previously losing 4-1 with Lyon to Paris Saint-Germain in April 2024.
However, this was an all-too-familiar feeling for Palace.
Only West Ham (14) have lost their opening home match in more Premier League seasons than Palace (13), while only Chelsea (21) have won their opening away game in more campaigns than City (17 – level with Liverpool).
Sage tried to shift momentum in Palace’s favour as he introduced summer signings Dwight McNeil, Zavier Gozo and Evann Guessand off the bench, but they did not produce the desired impact.
“I think we were able to play 60 minutes, stayed in the game. When I made the substitutions, the energy of the team went down. I’m a bit angry with that,” Sage told Sky Sports.
“Both [at my team and myself], we are together. I’m with my team every moment.
Defeat at Selhurst. pic.twitter.com/xetTBsc7Zl
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) August 28, 2026
“We had a lot of chances, it’s difficult to have hope against this kind of team without scoring.
“When you change players, you need more energy, I didn’t find that.
“We know we are in a process, we know we have to work. We have to not accept this kind of situation, we deserved a better result. Two negative situations at the end.
“We were late in our preseasons. I think at the moment we need substitutions. You can’t replace fatigue with low energy.”
Palace will look to win their first points under Sage when they travel to Fulham in their next Premier League game on September 5, though they will first hope to add to their squad, with the transfer deadline approaching on Tuesday.
