After suffering a surprise loss to AEK Larnaca last month, Palace started the contest like a team determined to make amends for that disappointing result on matchday two.
Sarr starred in the home side’s fast start, firing against the upright before he drew a foul from Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro to win a penalty after VAR confirmed there was no offside infringement.
The AZ shot-stopper quickly made amends for his error, diving low to his left to Jean-Philippe Mateta, who appeared to be put off after he initially missed the referee’s whistle.
Owusu-Oduro had no time to reflect on his penalty heroics, as he was quickly required to claw away Sarr’s headed effort, before he watched Will Hughes’s dipping volley soar over his head and crash against the crossbar.
The goalkeeper’s resistance was eventually broken in the 22nd minute, when Maxence Lacroix lashed home from Marc Guehi’s knockdown after the Eagles had kept the pressure on from a long-throw.
A lengthy review was required to rule that there was no offside in the lead-up to Lacroix’s first goal since December, and the technology was needed again to confirm there was nothing wrong with Sarr’s effort on the stroke of half-time.
The Palace attacker prodded in from close range after Jefferson Lerma and Lacroix combined with headers to steer the ball into the danger zone.
To AZ’s credit, they showed great character to halve the deficit within 15 minutes of the restart, as Sven Mijnans saw his deflected effort bounce over Dean Henderson after the Eagles failed to clear their lines from a low cross.
Unfortunately for the Dutch visitors, the hope restored by that effort was swiftly quashed by Sarr’s second goal of the evening. The 27-year-old raced onto Mateta’s throughball before he coolly slotted past Owusu-Oduro to net his second brace in three matches.
Oliver Glasner’s side saw out the remainder of the contest with minimum fuss to seal a third consecutive victory ahead of the derby clash with Brighton, moving them up to ninth spot and sending AZ down to 27th place.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace)
