Roy Hodgson saw his side score three first-half goals in the Premier League, and couldn’t praise his side enough for the eventual 4-1 win over Leeds United.

Roy Hodgson lavished praise on Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze after the new signing dazzled as the Eagles swept aside Premier League newcomers Leeds United.

Palace went into Saturday’s tie in need of a response after falling to a 2-0 defeat to Wolves last Friday, and faced a tough prospect in Marcelo Bielsa’s relentless side.

However Eze, a £19.5m arrival from QPR this summer, rose to the fore, providing the assist for Scott Dann’s opener before firing in a wonderful free kick to put the hosts in command.

The £19.5m signing bagged a sublime free kick and assist as Crystal Palace beat Leeds 4-1

It was the 22-year-old’s third start for the club since his arrival and was his best display to date for the Eagles, and Hodgson has given the youngster full credit for a standout performance.

‘I think apart from the free-kick, I thought his whole performance was very good,’ the Eagles boss told the club website.

‘I don’t think you could fault him in any way; I don’t think you could fault his defensive work – certainly couldn’t fault anything he did on the ball, and of course the goal for me was the icing on the cake.’

Saturday’s win moves Palace up to 7th ahead of the remaining Premier League fixtures this weekend, in what has been a strong start for the south London club.

Hodgson praised the 22-year-old’s work rate and his ability on the ball in the impressive win

‘I thought it was a highly competitive game. I thought we played well and I thought we were good value for our victory.

‘That’s a good victory because we are playing a team that started the season so well and have got a style of play that is a bit different to the style of play that we are normally used to seeing in the Premier League.

‘Not only did we deal well with it defensively, I thought in terms of our attacking play we were a constant threat.’

Hodgson will wave goodbye to some of his players who will represent their countries during the upcoming international break. The veteran boss has echoed the concerns of his fellow managers in allowing players to travel abroad during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Eagles go into the international break having enjoyed a solid start to the 2020-21 season

‘I am a little bit disappointed that players are going to go as far as Africa to play matches,’ the Palace boss said.

‘I don’t know that in this COVID world and environment in which we live, it is really great news to be sending your players to places like Sudan and Mauritius.

‘But it is something that we probably have to do, but I am just hoping this time the countries that they go and play for will look after them well because the last time we lost Jordan Ayew for two weeks.’