Crystal Palace dominated the game with a 3-1 win against the rivals, Brighton & Hove Albion, which resulted in their position at fourth place being exercised along with adding pressure to the opponents who also were hunting for the remaining qualifying place. It happened at Brighton’s Amex Stadium, where the home side suffered their first home defeat, and the vising side witnessed their resurgence under the management of Oliver Glasner.
Both teams initially began the match by seeking openings, but Crystal Palace was the one to score the first goal in the 27th minute. It all began with a not-well-headed corner, which then led to a chaotic situation in the 6-yard box of Brighton’s defender, where Trevoh Chalobah then scored by the ball hammering the ball into the net. The Eagles then doubled their lead as six minutes later, Tyrick Mitchell’s curling cross was perfectly delivered, and Ismaila Sarr was able to head home the Senegalese forward and make it even worse for Brighton defenders.
Brighton coach Fabian Hurzeler decided to show the way to Paraguayan forward Julio Enciso, who came as a spark of energy that ignited a resurgence for the Seagulls. The goalkeeper of the Eagles, Dean Henderson, was the one who was forced to make essential saves for Dunk and Enciso, and a disallowed goal for Palace due to a foul in the buildup kept the contest alive. Sarr, however, was the trick extinguisher for Brighton, first in the 82nd minute, breaking free out of a good counterattack and then in a cool finish sliding the ball out of the keeper’s reach, sending the hometeam hopes packing. A late consolation was given through a bizarre own goal of Palace defender Marc Guehi; a clearance of his attempt was instead the bounce-off in his back and straight into the net, which did little to end the spectators’ celebration.
Crystal Palace’s victory over Newcastle was the sixth in their last eight games, the only one they lost, which is a huge contrast to being winless in their first ten matches of the season. Glasner’s success had been hampered by injuries and a very tough fixture list, but the change of tactics and consistent performances have now stabilized the team’s season. The win also brings the Eagles one step closer to the Carabao Cup semifinals, as they have an important home match coming up versus Arsenal.
The Seagulls are getting increasingly worried as they have gone on a drawing spree for the fourth consecutive time now. Their inability to capitalize on a dominance of possession in the second half, as well as their vulnerability due to defensive mistakes, led them to a point where they finished the match losing. Presently, Brighton is at the tenth spot in the rankings, and the team’s management needs to think about the immediate difficulty related to the contradictory performance of the team.
The game clearly showed that the development paths of these two teams are polar opposites. Palace, who were once on the brink of relegation, are now looking up as they are more confident than ever before, whereas Brighton’s quest to take an early lead in the season could be compromised due to the middle-of-the-table congestion. Now that the relegation fight has commenced, every single victory gets additional significance, and this result might well be the winner or loser of this contending issue.
After the last whistle, Palace’s supporters, who had traveled to the game, went crazy after witnessing the away win, as their echoes roared around the stadium. Brighton, on the other hand, a defeated team, made this mistake known through the pains of the coaches, giving rise to the harshness of the Premier League, where the smallest of mistakes separates success from failure.