“He was outstanding – outstanding,” Hodgson said in his post-match press conference. “He is an outstanding player, really good.
“He was everywhere – all over the field. Defensively he was excellent, and he also had a really good game going forwards. He must have been really happy with his debut and his day’s work.
“We were impressed with him in the two matches in the United States as well, but this is his first real game for Crystal Palace in the Premier League and he came out of it with flying colours.”
Hodgson also reserved praise for goalscorer Odsonne Edouard, whose close-range finish earned the Eagles all three points.
“He should take confidence,” Hodgson said of the centre-forward. “His performance throughout the game was really good in every respect. He held the ball up well and he was a target for us when we wanted to play the ball forward.
“He had a very good game. Now he has scored a goal – and he may say two goals if he wants to contest the offside! It was a good move, I thought, and a good finish. I was disappointed to see it being chalked off.
“When you are working with a player every day like we do we are constantly telling them what we expect from them. We are constantly telling them how to become better as individuals and what you would like to see from them to help the team out with the quality they have.
“We have been looking for what we saw today since that first day back in March.”
Overall, Hodgson was pleased with his side's performance in an often febrile atmosphere at Bramall Lane.
“I’m happy with the start and happy with the points,” he said. “Happy whenever you can come to Bramall Lane and take points – especially with a team celebrating a return to the Premier League.
“We knew we were in for a tough game in every respect. I thought we handled the situation well.”