Crystal Palace were beaten 4-0 by Brighton on Sunday afternoon, suffering their first away defeat in the Premier League since the opening game of the season.
The Eagles’ hopes of a third successive win on the south coast were badly damaged by a disastrous opening spell. An unfortunate touch from Jaydee Canvot gave Brighton the lead before Diego Gomez doubled the hosts’ advantage with a remarkable strike from the halfway line. Yasin Ayari then added a third after Brighton worked the ball down the right, with another deflection leaving Palace facing a sizeable deficit.
Palace did create opportunities to respond. Anan Khalaili tested Brighton goalkeeper Verbruggen, while Walter Benítez was also called upon to keep out an effort from Charalampos Kostoulas. However, the hosts continued to pose the greater threat and Palace went into half-time 3-0 down.
Dwight McNeil replaced Quinten Timber at the interval, but Brighton extended their lead four minutes into the second half. Ayari’s deflected effort fell for Kostoulas, who finished to make it 4-0. Jean-Philippe Mateta then made his first appearance in two months, with Eddie Nketiah also introduced, and Mateta came close to a consolation when he struck the crossbar after a move involving Nketiah and McNeil.
The result leaves Palace 14th in the Premier League. The Eagles return to action on Thursday night against Besiktas in the UEFA Europa League before hosting Newcastle in their next domestic fixture on Sunday, 25th October.
