Before the match, Nordsjaelland were the only team in the competition yet to concede, following a 3–0 win over West Brom and a 1–0 victory over Fulham.
On breaking down such a strong defensive unit, Powell said: “They’ve won all their games in this competition, and they hadn’t conceded.
“But we put them under pressure. I wanted us to do that when we were in possession because they’re so expansive – there are opportunities to break on them.
“We did that well at times, could’ve been better at times, but scoring three goals against a team of this calibre… people might not know much about them, but trust me, we’ve seen enough to know what they’re capable of.”
He concluded: “So it’s pleasing. Really pleasing – up until the end, I guess.”
The victory keeps the young Eagles fifth in the group, level on six points with Valencia, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Fulham, and FC Nordsjaelland. Palace still have games in hand over Valencia and Fulham.
“We’ve got one more game, and that puts us in a strong position to qualify if we win it,” Powell said. “I need to look at the table, but I believe it’s in our hands.
“Yeah, it was a tough game today, and the three points were the objective – and we got them.”
