Soccer

Crystal Palace take full advantage of their fortune to end Brighton’s unbeaten home run

Ismaïla Sarr scores twice at the Amex Stadium as Palace move up to 15th place in the table

Ismaïla Sarr heads in Crystal Palace's second goal during the Premier League match against Brighton at the Amx Stadium. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images
Ismaïla Sarr heads in Crystal Palace's second goal during the Premier League match against Brighton at the Amx Stadium. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images
Ed Aarons at the Amex Stadium
Sun Dec 15 2024 - 16:33
Premier League: Brighton 1 Crystal Palace 3

If Michael Oliver isn’t on Oliver Glasner’s Christmas card list then the Crystal Palace manager may want to get one in the post before it’s too late. With his side struggling to get out of their half against Brighton’s onslaught, it was the referee who was responsible for the game’s pivotal moment midway through the first half.

Fabian Hürzeler was left incensed by Oliver’s decision to allow play to continue after Carlos Baleba had been impeded by the official during a Palace break downfield, with Trevoh Chalobah compounding his misery by slamming home from the corner that eventually resulted.

Yet the Brighton manager will be disappointed by the way his side allowed their emotions to get the better of them as Ismaïla Sarr scored twice to seal a memorable victory for Palace over their arch-enemies that ended their unbeaten record at home this season.

The only blemish for Palace was Marc Guéhi’s late own goal that denied the otherwise outstanding Dean Henderson a deserved clean sheet, not that the jubilant away fans will particularly care about that after suffering the ignominy of a 4-1 reverse here back in February under Roy Hodgson.

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Hürzeler revealed this week that he had been in contact with Glasner since taking over in the summer and described the Austrian as a “role model” from his time in German football.

He may be 19 years younger than his counterpart but Brighton came into this game 10 places above their bitter rivals, albeit having failed to win in their last three matches after briefly occupying second position at the end of last month. Hürzeler recalled Yankuba Minteh in place of Ireland international forward Evan Ferguson having surrendered a 2-0 lead against Leicester last week, while Palace were unchanged from their draw with Manchester City.

These occasions are never for the faint-hearted and – spurred on by their home crowd – it was Brighton who seemed most fired up at the start when Kaoru Mitoma shot straight at Henderson after a lovely flick over the shoulder from João Pedro. The Palace goalkeeper was then perhaps fortunate not to be punished when he raced out of goal to clear a through ball and clattered into Minteh.

Glasner looked increasingly frustrated as his side found themselves penned back inside their own half by failing to beat Brighton’s aggressive press led by the colossal Baleba. It needed the assistance of Oliver – who later apologised for his error – to finally get past the Cameroon midfielder when the referee unintentionally blocked his challenge on Eberechi Eze.

Palace took full advantage for the resulting corner when Chalobah slammed home from close range, with Hürzeler letting his feelings known to the fourth official on the touchline even though regulations state officials only have to stop play if the ball hits them.

Things could have got even worse for Brighton had Bart Verbruggen not saved well with his legs from Daniel Muñoz. But Palace clearly smelled blood and when a marauding Tyrick Mitchell picked out Sarr at the back post to head home, the visiting supporters could not contain their glee. Hürzeler, meanwhile, looked stunned and must have been relieved when Eze’s header from a Muñoz cross just before the break looped just wide.

His response was to withdraw Tariq Lamptey for the second half and switch to a back three, introducing Julio Enciso off the bench. The game reverted to similar pattern to the first half as Palace defended deep and it needed a decisive block from Max Lacroix to deny Mitoma after he found space inside the penalty area. A sharp save from Henderson kept out Lewis Dunk’s header from a free-kick when it seemed easier to score before the England goalkeeper was at full stretch to tip Enciso’s curler around the post.

A careless back-pass from Pervis Estupiñán that almost embarrassed Verbruggen would have proved terminal for Brighton’s hopes of a comeback. The Ecuadorean again almost gifted Palace a third when he was uncertain over a bouncing ball and Muñoz slammed home Sarr’s pass, only for Oliver to rule it out for a foul by the Senegal forward.

Hürzeler threw on the cavalry with 20 minutes to play and the substitute Brajan Gruda was a whisker away from halving the deficit with a dipping free-kick. But when Dunk dallied at the back it allowed the outstanding Sarr to score his second of the afternoon and ensure the bragging rights belonged to those of a red-and-blue persuasion. – Guardian