Brighton and Hove Albion’s hopes of a top five finish took a hefty blow as they suffered a painful and chaotic 2-1 Premier League loss at old rivals Crystal Palace.
It was a sleepy start from Fabian Hurzeler’s men and Palace took full advantage as Jean-Philippe Mateta smashed one beyond Bart Verbruggen and into the top corner after good work from Eberechi Eze.
The Seagulls slowly got up to speed and started to control much of the possession. The deserved leveller came on 31 minutes as Yankuba Minteh delivered a nice cross from the right and Danny Welbeck’s clever first time finish was too sharp for Palace keeper Dean Henderson.
Brighton actually looked the better team after the break but Palace are a serious threat on the counter and Albion were undone once again on 55 minutes. Eze was again the provider and their Colombian Daniel Muñoz fired home angled shot that nestled into the bottom corner.
Palace substitute Eddie Nketiah was then shown two yellow cards in quick succession. One for a dive in the box after a coming together with Pervis Estupinan and then the second for a high kick on Jan Paul van Hecke. Marc Guehi then saw a second yellow for a poor challenge on Brajan Gruda. The numbers evened slightly in the closing stages when Jan Paul van Hecke earned a second yellow for a mis-timed challenge on Daichi Kamada.
Referee Anthony Taylor gave 12 minutes added time but Palace saw out a mad match with nine men – much to the frustration of all concerned with Brighton. Here’s how they rated:
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5. Pervis Estupinan 6
Hurzeler described Estupinan as unstoppable prior to the match. He had a few tricky moments with Sarr and Munoz – especially the goal which came down his side. Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS
6. Carlos Baleba 6
Forced a 13th minute save from Henderson with a shot from distance. Did okay but you get the feeling he can do so much more at times. Kept driving forward until the end. Photo: Mike Hewitt
7. Diego Gomez 6
Lively in the first half and a threat when breaking forward. A very useful January signing and improving all the time. Forced off with what looked like cramp and replaced by Gruda. Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS
8. Matt O'Riley 5
Picked ahead of Gruda and a slow start in the first half – he was far from the only one. The former Celtic man didn't have the impact he would have hoped for and was replaced by Pedro on the hour. Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS