Crystal Palace suffered a damaging 5-0 defeat at Brighton on Sunday, with the result placing fresh pressure on manager Pierre Sage. Palace conceded three times inside the opening 10 minutes and were unable to recover during the seventh round of the Premier League season.
The result leaves Palace 14th in the table and close to the relegation places. It was their fourth defeat in seven league matches, coming only days after Sage’s former club Lyon defeated Palace in the Europa League on Thursday.
Speaking after the Brighton loss, Sage apologised to the supporters and acknowledged that the team had failed to show the importance of the occasion. He said Palace had not performed at the standard expected of the club and accepted that the display was his responsibility.
Palace fans began leaving the stadium before the final whistle, a reaction Sage said he understood. He admitted that the team’s performance was not acceptable and said he could not criticise supporters for leaving after what they had witnessed.
Sage also indicated that he remains uncertain about his future, although he insisted he would continue to give everything to improve the situation. The manager said he would study the defeat, learn from it and work to change the team’s level of performance, while recognising that Palace must produce much more than they did at Brighton.
