Crystal Palace suffered a heavy defeat on Sunday as Brighton claimed a 5-0 victory in the derby, extending their extraordinary scoring run in the Premier League.
The decisive moment arrived in the seventh minute when Brighton midfielder Diego Gomez noticed Palace goalkeeper Walter Benitez away from his line. From around 51 metres, Gomez sent a superb effort over Benitez and into the net, leaving the Palace goalkeeper unable to recover despite a desperate attempt to get back.
The strike was the seventh goal of Gomez’s Brighton career and the furthest long-range goal recorded in the Premier League since Wayne Rooney scored from 58 metres for Everton in 2017. Brighton captain Lewis Dunk, whose own long-range effort won the league’s goal of the month award for September, joked that Gomez had now taken the club’s goal of the season from him.
Brighton’s victory took their league tally to 23 goals from seven matches, while they moved to 16 points and third place. They have now scored five against both Coventry and Palace, alongside wins over Aston Villa, Arsenal and Sunderland.
For Palace, the result represented another painful derby afternoon as Brighton’s attacking quality proved too much at the Amex. Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler urged his players to remain humble after the result, while acknowledging that his team still has areas to improve despite its impressive start.
