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Crystal Palace STUN Brighton to extend unbeaten streak.
Ismaila Sarr scores two goals in 3-1 win for Eagles side who are five matches without defeat
Ismaila Sarr scored twice as Crystal Palace moved four points clear of the Premier League relegation zone following a 3-1 victory over rivals Brighton & Hove Albion.
Sarr netted in each half while Trevoh Chalobah was also on target for Oliver Glasner’s side, who made it back-to-back wins on the road and are now unbeaten in five games.
Palace struck twice in the space of six first-half minutes, with Chalobah breaking the deadlock in scrappy fashion before Sarr’s header doubled the Eagles’ advantage.
Brighton, who were often thwarted by the excellent Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson, controlled large periods after the interval, but Sarr’s second goal eight minutes from time condemned Fabian Hurzeler’s side to their first home defeat of the season.
An unfortunate 87th-minute own goal from Marc Guehi provided a consolation for Brighton, who are ninth, while Palace move up to 15th.
| Position | Club | Played | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 |  West Ham |
15 | -8 | 18 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace |
16 | -4 | 16 |
| 16 |  Everton |
15 | -7 | 15 |
| 17 |  Leicester |
16 | -13 | 14 |
| 18 |  Ipswich |
16 | -12 | 12 |
| 19 |  Wolves |
16 | -16 | 9 |
| 20 |  Southampton |
16 | -24 | 5 |
How the match unfolded
After Henderson denied Kaoru Mitoma early on, the visitors made their goalkeeper’s good work count in the 27th minute.
Will Hughes’ corner ricocheted kindly off Jan Paul van Hecke and Sarr for Chalobah, who fired into the roof of the net from close range.
Palace were 2-0 up soon after as Sarr turned from provider to scorer as he headed in Tyrick Mitchell‘s deep cross to the back post.
Brighton looked rejuvenated after the break, yet could not find a way beyond Henderson, and Palace did the damage on the counter in the 82nd minute when Sarr raced clear and slotted beyond Bart Verbruggen.
Henderson’s clean sheet was spoilt when Maxence Lacroix’s attempted clearance bounced in off his defensive partner Guehi, but it was too little too late for Brighton, who were fortunate that Eddie Nketiah subsequently squandered a chance to restore Palace’s three-goal cushion.
Seagulls’ wings clipped?
Brighton had a fantastic start under Hurzeler, but they have found matters altogether more difficult in recent weeks, and Sunday’s contest proved to be a continuation of that form.
Having succumbed to a late comeback in their 2-2 draw at Leicester City last week, Brighton were searching for a response against their rivals, yet instead they ended the game having surrendered their unbeaten run at home in the league this season.
They started brightly, with Mitoma going close, but with Henderson in inspired form for Palace between the posts, the Seagulls were opened up defensively at the other end. Their failure to deal with the set-piece for Palace’s opener was followed up by Tariq Lamptey getting caught underneath the ball in the build-up to Sarr heading in just six minutes later. As like against Leicester, Brighton conceded twice in quick succession.
The half-time introduction of Julio Enciso for Lamptey sparked a response from the hosts, who were very much on top for most of the second period.
It took smart saves from Henderson to keep out a thumping Lewis Dunk header and Enciso’s curling attempt to prevent them from halving the deficit.
Yet they couldn’t find the breakthrough, and eventually Palace’s pace on the counter-attack punished them. A trip to West Ham United comes next for the Seagulls, who will be aiming to get their season firmly back on track after this bump in the road.
Glasner’s Eagles click into gear
Unbeaten in four games heading into the match, Palace knew this was a decent opportunity to put distance between themselves and the relegation zone, and they took it with both hands.
Jordan Pickford was in excellent form for Everton at Arsenal on Saturday and his England team-mate Henderson put on another fine goalkeeping display, with his saves from Dunk and Enciso particular highlights.
To go with their solid defending, Glasner will have been thrilled to see the pace and creativity with which his side attacked, with former Watford forward Sarr turning in a brilliant performance, with the only blip being that slice of bad luck for Guehi’s own goal, and Nketiah’s failure to convert when one-on-one with Verbruggen.
The Eagles have won successive Premier League away games for the first time since April 2023.
Palace now have two games against Arsenal to come. First, they visit the Emirates in the EFL Cup, before they host the Gunners next Saturday in the league.
Club reports
Brighton report | Palace report
What the managers said
Fabian Hurzeler: “The goals we conceded are too easy. You can’t concede these easy goals. I think we showed a good reaction in the second half, we had some big chances but then the game is getting more and more difficult because they are getting more and more compact. It is tough but we have to learn from these things and improve.”
Oliver Glasner: “All the credit goes to the players. We defended compact, we didn’t give them many situations. They changed their system and we struggled to put pressure on the ball. In this phase we needed Dean Henderson who made two or three big saves. The 3-0 was the moment that decided the game for us and it was a very positive performance.
“We knew that if we were patient we would get better performances. Some players were not fit, new signings, but we didn’t want to talk about this and look to be making excuses. We are getting more confident with how we want to play.”
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Key facts
Marc Guehi netted his second own goal of the season here, with no Crystal Palace player ever scoring more in a Premier League campaign for the Eagles. It was also just the second own goal netted in this fixture’s history in the competition, after Joachim Andersen in January 2022.
Brighton have kept just one clean sheet across their last 14 Premier League games against Crystal Palace (W4 D6 L4), whilst the Seagulls have now won just one of their last ten league fixtures against sides from London (D2 L7).
Crystal Palace beat Brighton for the first time since February 2021, ending a run of six winless Premier League fixtures against them (D4 L2). Each of the Eagles’ last three Premier League wins against them have now come away from home.
EPL