Even in a week when they have beaten the mighty Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabéu, this ranked as one of Pep Guardiola’s most satisfying victories of the season.

It was Oliver Glasner who condemned the Manchester City manager to his first season without a major trophy since his first year in English football, when Crystal Palace enjoyed the greatest day in their history at the FA Cup final in May. So outsmarting one of the Premier League’s shrewdest operators gave Guardiola extra contentment, not to mention helping City to move back to within two points of Arsenal.

The midfielder has caught the eye at Selhurst Park and now has the World Cup and Champions League in his sights

For all the milestones Adam Wharton has ticked off since he signed for Crystal Palace in January last year there is one he has yet to celebrate: scoring a goal.

It took only four months for the midfielder to earn a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad thanks to some scintillating performances for the club, although Wharton didn’t play a minute at the tournament after making his debut in a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This might be Crystal Palace’s first European campaign but they are learning very quickly. Having arrived in Dublin missing some of their big-hitters including star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta and the marauding wing-back Daniel Muñoz, they left with a comfortable victory that virtually assured them of a place in the Conference League playoffs.

Oliver Glasner has already said that he will play a weakened team against Finnish side KuPS in their final group stage match next week despite slipping up against Strasbourg on their last outing as Palace are in the middle of a marathon December in which they will play eight times. So it was heartening for him to see some of his fringe players shine, as Christantus Uche capped only his second start since joining on an initial loan from Getafe in the summer with a well-taken goal and Eddie Nketiah scored for the second game in succession.

This was an evening of notable milestones for Arsenal and Gabriel Martinelli, although there was no smile broader than Noni Madueke’s. The England forward was subjected to a ridiculous online petition that opposed his move across London from Chelsea in the summer. But on a rare appearance on the right flank as Bukayo Saka was given a welcome rest, Madueke scored a fantastic individual goal before adding a second after half-time to set up a comfortable victory for Mikel Arteta’s side.

It means Arsenal have become only the fifth English team to win their opening six matches of a Champions League or European Cup campaign and now need only a point from their remaining two to rubber‑stamp their progress directly to the last 16, even if in reality it is already a formality thanks to their superior goal difference.