ROMAIN ESSE is eager to impress new boss Oliver Glasner after whetting his scoring appetite with a goal on his Crystal Palace and Premier League debut.

The 19-year-old former Millwall winger, who signed for Palace earlier this month, was introduced in the 83rd minute of their 2-1 loss to Brentford and opened his Eagles account with his first touch two minutes later.

It was a sliver of a silver lining on an otherwise frustrating afternoon for the hosts at Selhurst Park, who fell behind as a result of Bryan Mbeumo’s retaken penalty in the 66th minute, then conceded a second when Kevin Schade headed home 10 minutes from time.

“First touch, first goal. It’s the start I would like to get off to and I’m just happy to have done it, but gutted about the result and hopefully we can fix it next week,” said Esse.

“[Glasner told me] really just to push on, express myself as soon as I get onto the pitch.

“It worked out just for that period of time, but I think if the game kept going for an extra 10 minutes, we would have gotten another few goals, but yeah, just a bit unfortunate from us.

“I went over to the left side for a bit to try to get the ball, then I just found myself at the back post and it was just instincts.

“I mean, it’s kind of like what I’m about. For more games, you’ll see, I’ll start to show more what I am about. I’m just happy I started off well.”

The born and bred south Londoner, who lives minutes away from the Eagles’ training ground, celebrated his first Premier League strike — controversially for some — with a knee slide.

He added: “It was great, it was quite brief, unfortunately, because of the score, but I’m happy. That’s just a glimpse of what’s to come.

“I’m hungry. I’m willing to do anything. I’ll just keep going every day, working hard at training.”

Glasner was pleased for Esse though perhaps more disappointed by his side’s mistakes, particularly in the passage of play leading up to the penalty.

“He is here in the Premier League having a nice start, but also he will stay humble,” said the Eagles boss.

“It’s the beginning of his journey in the Premier League, and it was a good beginning.”

Brentford boss Thomas Frank, whose 11th-placed side next face slumping Spurs, felt “the character of [his] team was brilliant” and deserved the win under “unbelievably difficult circumstances” at a wet and blustery Selhurst Park.

And while the Bees have a higher league position than Palace, who dropped to 13th following Manchester United’s victory over Fulham, Frank felt Sunday’s opponents are worthy of study.

He said: “I knew with all due respect to Southampton, this would be much more difficult. It’s a club that I like a lot.

“I know we are higher than them [but] if you look historically, how many years in a row have they [been in the Premier League]? Ten, 11?

“That’s just the way they’re built. I think Crystal Palace have done fantastic, and they are something, someone we should look towards, because what they have achieved over the last 10, 12 years is remarkable.”

Brentford defender Mads Roerslev has joined Bundesliga side Wolfsburg on loan until the end of the season.

Denmark international Roerslev has started Brentford’s last six Premier League games and made 146 appearances for the Bees since arriving from Copenhagen in 2019.

Brentford director of football Phil Giles told the club website: “Wolfsburg will have the option to buy Mads in the summer, so we aren’t sure at this stage whether he will be back with us again for next season.”