Five things we learned from Palace’s 2-0 defeat of Burnley

The Return of the Twelfth Man

There’s no getting away from the atmosphere at Selhurst Park against Burnley. That is almost solely down to the return of the Holmesdale Fanatics.

The announcement earlier in the day that they would be returning to their usual spot in the Holmesdale Road End brought with it a carnival feel to the ground.

It’s not the noise they produce, but it’s the energy and the encouragement they give the fans on all sides of the ground which is breath-taking.

For 90minutes against Burnley it was relentless, and you could point to the ‘ultras’ for the inspired performance on the pitch.

Mercurial Max

There were glimpses in his last couple of outings, but against Burnley he was the stand-out man, which wasn’t easy considering Andros Townsend put in some shift.

His movement, his clever passing and his ability to relieve pressure was all on show. There were glimpses of Eden Hazard in there which will get the home fans excited.

He left the pitch to a standing ovation, which he thoroughly deserved.

READ: REPORT: Crystal Palace 2 Burnley 0

Shooting Practice

With 29 efforts the return of just two goals isn’t good enough. It’s no secret that Palace want a striker but they are getting chances, evidently.

Maybe it’s not so much a striker they need but some more hours of shooting practice.

It’s not as though all 29 shots fell to the same man, in-fact what was pleasing is that they came from all over the park.

As Hodgson kept saying during the recent poor run of results, he wasn’t worried about the performances because they kept making chances.

The side just need to learn to be ruthless, it would certainly stop the nerves every fan felt before Townsend’s wonder strike.

READ: Crystal Palace player ratings from their 2-0 victory over Burnley

McArthur Magic

The quiet midfielder got on the score sheet but it was a piece of skill mid-way through the first half that people will remember.

Pirouetting Zidane-esque, James McArthur took two men out of the game and got on the attack. There was a gasp of sheer amazement in the ground as not one person knew he had it in his locker.

Hart Back to his best

Burnley in truth were poor. The one man that could get back on the team bus back to Turf Moor was Joe Hart. The former England number one made a string of fine saves to keep the visitors in the game, until Townsend struck.

Judging by how easy Sean Dyche’s men were cut open yesterday, Hart will need to be at the top of his game if Burnley are to get out of the bottom three.