It is safe to say I’m not sure anyone rocked up to Selhurst Park yesterday expecting an absolute Premier League classic – but that is certainly what we got. Perhaps from an outsider’s point of view, a game between two of the form sides in the league to start the season always had the potential to deliver such quality. But ask any fan of either side, and games between Palace and Bournemouth have been anything but classic over the last couple of years. That’s football for you – what we got was brilliant; here are five things we learned over the course of the 90 minutes.

1. Palace vs Bournemouth doesn’t have to be boring

The first talking point needs to be a massive credit to both sides at Selhurst Park. It was a truly breathless game which on another day could’ve had even more goals, with both teams able to make justifiable cases as to why they deserved three points. In the end, I think a draw was fair, but these two sides truly showed why they are where they are this season. It really did look like a game between two sides who could be battling for Europe this season. That I still don’t know how to feel about the result, given all the ebbs and flows, probably tells you all you need to know. A Premier League classic.

2. Iraola changed things up against a back three

One of the biggest criticism’s of Andoni Iraola’s reign at the club has been our performances against back threes, which are usually set up in a low block. The first goal might have come from a set piece, but they are especially important if you feel you might struggle from open play. The second goal was a superb counter led by Antoine Semenyo, with players flying up in support and the ball eventually falling to Junior Kroupi for his second. The third was a brilliant team move from back to front – showing much more bravery and movement than we had in some other games against back threes. Long balls were much less prevalent than they had been in other games, and when they were, they weren’t wasted towards small attackers, only at Antoine Semenyo. Off the ball was a very different approach. It was more of a 5-2-3 out of possession, with Semenyo, Justin Kluivert and Kroupi picking up a centre back each. The other winger, Marcus Tavernier, picked up Tyrick Mitchell, effectively playing at wing back himself, with Alex Jimenez simply following Yeremy Pino wherever he went (and doing a good job at it, too). This does, however, lead into my next point…

3. We looked more open than usual defensively

I will never really complain about us looking massively open defensively – it’s a cost of playing the way we do, and I suppose that is fine. But I’m not sure the OOP press was completely effective – the second half especially exposed how much room Daniel Munoz was allowed on the right hand side, with Semenyo sticking on Chris Richards. Munoz ended up with two assists, allowed space and time with Adrien Truffert struggling to pick both him and Ismaila Sarr up. Bafode Diakite might be disappointed with his contributions for all three goals as well. He lost Jean Phillips-Mateta for the first two goals, and as contentious as the penalty decision was, it’s a dangerous game to have arms around your opponent in the penalty area. His partner, Marcos Senesi, wasn’t his brilliant best either, with the needless challenge on Sarr surviving an on-field review by Jarred Gillett. Mateta got the best of both on the day, especially aerially (Mateta won 70% of aerial duels), so it was perhaps a surprise to keep the imposing Veljko Milosavljevic on the bench. But I am aware we can’t be brilliant defensively every week, and I’ll take a poorer defensive display for an entertaining game, which would’ve been three points were it not for that controversial penalty decision.

4. This squad is better than last season’s

I saw people before the game saying they didn’t think that our squad was better than last season’s group – I might choose to disagree. I genuinely don’t believe that any squad of the AFC Bournemouth Premier League era would have found a way to go in front having been so under the cosh in the second half. It showed tremendous character, and that two subs, Ben Gannon-Doak and the goalscorer, Ryan Christie, were so prevalent in the goal, shows how deep the squad is. Amine Adli and James Hill also came on to make positive contributions, with Lewis Cook coming on in the 90th minute for just his second appearance of the season. For me, that shows how deep the squad is, with the quality (that wasn’t available to us last season) to bring on in attacking areas, and with Alex Scott’s progression meaning Christie is a substitute, he is a great player to bring on. There is a clear fight, togetherness and willingness in this squad that will take us far. It would have been easy to fold after Palace levelled but there was a great resilience shown. We were without our first choice striker but even at Selhurst Park he wasn’t a miss, which speaks volumes, and again, leads into my next point…

5. Junior Kroupi is going to be brilliant

I can’t lie and say I wasn’t concerned when the lineups were announced with no Evanilson in the side. Kroupi struggled against a back three when we played Brentford in the cup – but I suppose everyone struggled that day. He showed brilliant strikers instinct to find himself at the back post and head home pretty much on the goal-line within five minutes of this one, no doubt giving him a massive confidence boost in his first PL start. He showed a willingness to get into the game by coming deep, and did his defensive duties well on set pieces. He led the press well, working tirelessly, and was rewarded with a second goal, a brilliant finish on the volley following Marc Guehi’s failed clearance. At that point, Kroupi had scored three goals in 62 minutes of league action, a remarkable one goal every 21 minutes. He wasn’t able to get into the game as much in the second half – in truth overall he probably didn’t offer quite as much on or off the ball as Evanilson, but you can’t argue with a striker who scores goals. No teenager has scored more goals in the PL than Kroupi this season, and it’s incredibly exciting to see how this young man might grow at our football club. What will be interesting is whether he starts next week should Evanilson be available, given Iraola’s record of dropping youngsters after strong full debuts.

I’ve managed to write those points without a complete rant about Jarred Gillet – but he doesn’t deserve to be the centre of attention in what was a pulsating game between two brilliant sides. AFC Bournemouth have yet to ruin my weekend this season – and for that I am incredibly grateful. Long may it continue.