Brighton’s fierce rivals Crystal Palace make managerial decision 25 days after 5-0 Amex Stadium thrashing

Crystal Palace have sacked manager Pierre Sage less than five months after his appointment.

The former Lens and Lyon boss succeeded Oliver Glasner in June but secured just two Premier League wins and one draw from 10 matches.

Sage also suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat to old rivals Brighton at the Amex Stadium on October 18.

Palace sit bottom of the table following Sunday’s 3-1 loss at home to Liverpool.

Three members of Sage’s coaching staff – Jamal Alioui, Damien Della Santa and Sandy Guichard – have also left the club.

“Crystal Palace Football Club can confirm that Pierre Sage has left his role as manager,” read a club statement.

“The club would like to place on record its thanks to Pierre and his staff for their efforts during their time in south London, and wish them well for the future.”

A Frank assessment

According to bookmakers, former Tottenham and Brentford boss Thomas Frank is the leading candidate to replace Sage.

Palace are bottom of the table after a complete round of fixtures for the first time since December 2017.

The Eagles have looked marginally better in other competitions, beating Fulham late last month to book a meeting with Sunderland in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

Their Europa League campaign has also been a mixed bag, with one win, two draws and one loss leaving them in 21st place after their first four matches.

Glasner survived a nine-game Premier League winless run in February. But the Austrian, who joined Nottingham Forest in the summer, had credit in the bank, having led Palace to FA Cup and Conference League glory.

Sage advice

Some have suggested Sage – last year’s Ligue 1 manager of the season after guiding Lens to a second-placed finish – was dealt a bad hand, pointing to other areas, including recruitment and injuries, as contributing factors.

But even by his own admission, Palace have lacked consistency, conceding more goals – 24 – than any other top-flight club, while scoring 10, leaving them with the worst goal difference in the division.