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Brighton and Hove Albion’s poor form continued with their first home league defeat of the season at the hands of arch-rivals Crystal Palace.
Albion were looking to bounce back after a run of three games without a win.
After a scrappy start to the game, it was the visitors who struck first after 27 minutes with Trevor Chalobah heading in from a corner – which was not defended at all well by Albion.
Bart Verbruggen was kept busy as Palace threatened to double their lead, which they managed to do when Tyrick Mitchell’s inch-perfect cross was headed in at the back post by Ismaila Sarr after 33 minutes.
Brighton and Hove Albion’s poor form continued with their first home defeat of the season at the hands of arch-rivals Crystal Palace. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)Brighton and Hove Albion’s poor form continued with their first home defeat of the season at the hands of arch-rivals Crystal Palace. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Brighton and Hove Albion’s poor form continued with their first home defeat of the season at the hands of arch-rivals Crystal Palace. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Tariq Lamptey didn’t cover himself in glory for this goal, as he was beaten easily by Mitchell out wide after a long ball forward.
The full-back was replaced at half-time by Julio Enciso, who has had limited game-time for the Seagulls this season and has been linked with a January loan move.
He nearly made an instant impact on this game, though, as the Paraguay international played a one-two with Carlos Baleba and forced Dean Henderson into a superb save at full stretch.
Lewis Dunk and Kaoru Mitoma also went close as Albion piled on the pressure in the second-half but Palace managed to weather the storm.
It was the Eagles who had the ball in the net a third time but it was ruled out for a foul on Pervis Estupinan.
Oliver Glasner’s side were not to be denied a third goal, though, as Sarr put the icing on the cake with a calm finish after some terrible Albion defending.
This capped off a thoroughly disappointing day for Fabian Hurzeler’s men, who did grab a consolation through a very scrapy Marc Guehi own goal but it did little to lift spirits inside the Amex.
The 3-1 defeat leaves Brighton ninth in the table after four games without a win.
Here are our Brighton player ratings:
B. Verbruggen – 6: Two big saves at 0-1 but Palace quickly doubled their lead anyway. Left his goal unguarded for a third goal but the referee offered a reprieve for a foul on Estupinan. Nothing he could do for Sarr’s second of the afternoon after some horror defending in front of him.
P. Estupinan – 5: Not able to impact the game as much as he would have liked this afternoon. Got lucky after he dallied on the ball under pressure from Sarr, who was penalised for a foul, as Palace won the ball and scored.
L. Dunk – 5: Blindsided for second goal. The captain was booked in the first-half for pulling back Sarr. Denied by a great Dean Henderson save. The skipper gave Sarr far too much space for the third goal after a pinball of headers – a really scrappy goal to concede.
J. van Hecke – 5: Not how he would have wanted his 50th Brighton appearance to go. Perhaps could have defended the corner better for the first goal. Caught out on the half-way line at 1-3 but Palace somehow failed to score a fourth.
T. Lamptey – 4: Second goal came from Lamptey being beaten in the air out wide. Mitchell’s cross was then headed in by Sarr. Fired a shot wide as he attempted to make amends for his error. Replaced at half-time by Enciso.
Y. Ayari – 5: Not one of his better performances. Didn’t have control of the midfield.
C. Baleba – 6: Another midfielder who was not at his best but one of the better performers. He was fuming after the referee accidentally blocked his path before the first goal.
K. Mitoma – 6: Early effort saved from close range. Had another chance from Minteh’s pass but couldn’t make space for a shot. So close to halving the deficit. Looked the most likely source of a goal when Albion put the pressure on.
G. Rutter – 5: Very quiet. Wasn’t able to impact the game in an attacking sense.
Y. Minteh – 5: Some flashes of what he can do out wide and created a chance for Mitoma. His impact faded.
Joao Pedro – 6: Brilliant piece of skill with an overhead pass to set up Mitoma’s early chance. Frustrated with his teammates’ movement after wasteful cross. Shot blocked a Albion pile on the pressure in the second half. Trying to unlock the door but his passing not always at its best by the Brazilian’s standards.
Julio Enciso – 7: Lovely one-two with Baleba before curling an effort that was heading for the bottom corner but denied by at full stretch by Henderson. Stunning save. Denied by another great save in injury-time.
Bryan Gruda – 6: So close to halving the deficit with a free-kick just minutes after coming on. An exciting talent and looking forward to seeing more from him.
Evan Ferguson – N/A
Simon Adingra – N/A
Mats Wieffer – N/A
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