Van Aanholt calmly buried the spot-kick in the style of his skipper and brought Palace back into the game with West Ham United - the platform they would need to go on and claim all three points.
Speaking after the final whistle, the Dutchman cut a similarly relaxed figure and gave a simple answer when asked if he'd practised penalties throughout the week: "Nope."
He continued, explaining the moment Roy Hodgson spoke with him about the decision: "Luka was suspended today and before the game, the gaffer in the meeting said: ‘Who wants to take a penalty?’
"He looked at me and said: ‘Will you take it?’ I said: ‘Yeah. I’m confident enough to take one,' and I took one and it hit the back of the net."
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Turning his attention from the first to the second goal, Van Aanholt explained how waiting to find out whether the Eagles had clinched victory or whether they'd have to contend with a point felt.
"It was very tense," he said, "especially when you come 1-0 down at this place. It’s hard to come back from it but we did well, we came back and luckily we won the game.
"We never stop believing. This team, we’ve got good characters and we work very hard. I think we showed it today. We went 1-0 behind and maybe I should have stopped the cross but we did very well and came back in the game to win the game in the end."
You can hear more from the team in full post-match reaction live on Palace TV. Either click here or 'Palace TV' in the official app!
