Report & Highlights: Clinical Palace cut through Brighton

Summary:

• Unbeaten in four, Palace unchanged from draw with Manchester City.
• 3: Henderson repels Mitoma’s low shot with his legs.
• 7: Goalkeeper then dashes from his line to deny Minteh a route to goal.
• 25: Palace win succession of corners as Eze and Mateta threaten.
• 27 – GOAL: Chalobah scrambles Palace in front from a corner.
• 33 – GOAL: Sarr heads home a second from Mitchell’s hanging cross.
• 36: Mateta’s near-post flick kept out by Verbruggen.
• 43: Eze heads wide from Munoz’s clipped cross.
• HT: Brighton 0-2 Palace
• 54: Lacroix blocks from Mitoma as Brighton pile on second-half pressure.
• 56: Henderson keeps out Dunk’s header and Enciso’s curling effort.
• 67: Muñoz denied a third by referee’s whistle after Sarr challenge on Estupiñan.
• 69: Nketiah and Sarr go close on the counter.
• 77: Gruda’s free-kick narrowly clears the crossbar for Brighton.
• 82 – GOAL: Sarr capitalises on Dunk’s hesitation to roll home Palace’s third.
• 87 – GOAL: Brighton get one back with fortuitous own-goal.
• 90: Nketiah runs clean through from Kamada’s pass but scoops wide.
• FT: Brighton 1-3 Palace

Palace – unchanged from last weekend’s 2-2 draw with champions Manchester City – were seeking a first win in seven matches against Brighton, but went into the game off the back of a stronger run of recent from than their traditional rivals.

But the first chance of the game was Brighton’s after three minutes. A clever flick from Joao Pedro on the edge of the box put Kaoru Mitoma in down the left, and his low shot across goal was well kicked away by Dean Henderson.

Just moments later, the England international was busy again, racing from his line to race Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh to a ball over the top. On the bounce, the attacker made the first contact with the ball, but Henderson got more on it and cleared impressively.

Those two half-chances set the tone for a stop-start opening: Brighton often sought an aerial route to goal, but Palace looked increasingly threatening on the counter as the half wore on.

Then, with the clock ticking towards the half-hour mark, Oliver Glasner’s side seized control of the contest.

After some clever movement from Ebere Eze – often playing on the turn in the centre circle – led to a series of Palace corners, Will Hughes – on his 100th  appearance for the club – delivered an in-swinging cross.

As it dropped, the ball, deflected off Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke, and fell – delightfully from a Palace perspective – for Trevoh Chalobah to scoop home from six yards, sending the away end into bedlam.

But that was just the start of it.

Palace had their tails up, and after Ismaïla Sarr’s low drilled cross was spilled by Bart Verbruggen, Tyrick Mitchell picked up the rebound and poked it to Daniel Muñoz, whose low effort required beating away at the near post by the Brighton ‘keeper.

Then, seconds after Yasin Ayari had blasted over for Brighton from the edge of the box, Maxence Lacroix went long towards Tyrick Mitchell with a free-kick.

The wing-back was fortunate to see his opposite number, Tyriq Lamptey, completely misjudge the flight of the ball, and took full advantage, delivering a devastating hanging cross which Sarr did superbly to head back across goal for his second in his last three away matches.

The Eagles were soaring at the home of their archrivals; Verbruggen reacted sharply to keep out Jean-Philippe Mateta’s near-post flick, before Eze – finding plenty of space to run onto a clipped cross from Muñoz – generated too much power with his header, clearing the top-right corner.

Boos from sections of the Brighton support at half-time will have been music to Palace ears, but their lead was fully merited after a diligent and clinical first-half display.

That organisation was tested soon after the restart, as a half-time change of shape saw the hosts pen Palace back for much of the opening stages of the second-half, Chalobah and Lacroix blocking goal-bound efforts from Pedro and Mitoma respectively.

Lewis Dunk was next to go close for Brighton, but Henderson reacted sharply to keep out his powerful header from Mitoma’s free-kick. Seconds later, he denied Julio Enciso, whose bending effort from 25 yards seemed all but certain to settle in the bottom corner.

Palace responded with a double change of their own, Daichi Kamada and Eddie Nketiah coming on for Eze and Mateta respectively.

That appeared to stem the flow of chances which had characterised the start of the second-half – and Palace may even have had a third after 67 minutes as Sarr went shoulder to shoulder with Pervis Estupiñán, before squaring for Muñoz to tap home, only for the referee’s whistle to sound in Brighton’s favour.

Indeed, for all of Brighton’s dominance of the ball, Palace’s threat again grew as the half went on, with Nketiah firing a low effort across goal and Sarr whipping the side-netting from a tight angle on the opposite side.

Palace’s defence was holding firm, with only a moment of inspiration likely to breach it, albeit Brighton’s Brajan Gruda came close to picking out the top corner with a deflected free-kick – the effort, thankfully, landed on the roof of the net.

There was still time to sprinkle a – and, of course, Sarr was the man to provide it, racing onto Nketiah’s flick-on, nicking the ball past a hesitating Dunk and rolling it home beyond Verbruggen with delightful composure.

Spirits could not even be dampened by a Brighton consolation goal a few minutes later, as a scramble at a corner saw the ball cruelly deflect in off an unwitting Guéhi.

There was even time left for Nketiah to run clean through from Kamada’s through-ball, but his lobbed finish evaded the far post, before Henderson denied Enciso with one final impressive save.

By then, however, there had already been an exodus at Amex Stadium, with Palace becoming the first team to win away there this season.

It was an afternoon to remember.

Brighton: Verbruggen (GK), Lamptey (Enciso, HT), Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupinan, Baleba, Ayari (Gruda, 72), Minteh (Ferguson, 72), Rutter (Adingra, 72), Mitoma, Pedro.

Subs: Steele (GK), Igor, Moder, Wieffer, McConville.

Palace: Henderson (GK), Muñoz, Chalobah, Lacroix, Guéhi, Mitchell (Clyne, 85), Lerma, Hughes (Doucouré, 85), Eze (Kamada, 60), Sarr (Devenny, 90+2), Mateta (Nketiah, 60).

Subs: Turner (GK), Kporha, Schlupp, Agbinone.

As It Happened: