Crystal Palace's defensive difficulties have reached a worrying point, with the five goals conceded in their latest outing leaving them with the worst record in the Premier League. The Eagles have now allowed 17 goals across their opening seven matches.
The result followed another damaging start in Europe on Thursday, when Palace fell 2-0 behind before losing 3-2 to Lyon in France. However, the collapse against Brighton was especially painful for supporters, with the team unable to match the importance of the occasion.
It was a difficult afternoon for the Palace back line. Eighteen-year-old central defender Honest Ahanor, who is on loan from Atalanta, was withdrawn after 53 minutes during his second Premier League start.
There was at least one positive for the Eagles, as France striker Jean-Philippe Mateta returned to action. It was his first appearance of the campaign after he suffered an injury during the opening-weekend defeat by Everton.
Captain Adam Wharton gave a blunt assessment of Palace's performance, saying the team had made an extremely poor start and that the display was below the required standard from every player. He also acknowledged that slow openings had become a recurring issue that the squad must address.
Palace will have little time to recover, with a Europa League trip to Turkey to face Besiktas on Thursday. Sage only took charge in the summer after replacing Oliver Glasner, but the manager will come under significant pressure if the Eagles cannot quickly improve after such a damaging performance.
