Credit: The Brighton Base
Brighton’s dismal run of form continued as they were beaten 1-0 by rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.
The Seagulls struggled to break down the Eagles’ backline throughout the contest, with set-pieces posing the most threat to Oliver Glasner’s side.
Ismaila Sarr then broke the deadlock after 61 minutes, steering his strike beyond Bart Verbruggen after being teed up by debutant Evann Guessand.
The defeat leaves Brighton with just one win to their name in their last 12 Premier League matches, with supporters showing their frustration with a series of chants aimed at manager Fabian Hurzeler.
The Brighton Base takes a look at how the home side performed at the Amex Stadium…
**Bart Verbruggen – 6**
The Dutchman prevented matters from going from bad to worse for his side with some smart saves. Lacked options when looking to play out of defence.
**Ferdi Kadioglu – 6**
Minimised the threat of Yeremy Pino and Tyrick Mitchell well. Attempted to roam forward and pose a threat, but his movement was limited in that respect. Tasked with playing as part of a makeshift back-three late on.
**Lewis Dunk – 7**
The Seagulls skipper emerged with credit on a tough afternoon. Dealt with Jorgen Strand Larsen well in a physical, fierce battle. His aimless header in the lead up to the all-important goal will be a source of frustration, but his midfield did him no favours with their positioning. Briefly led the line late on.
**Olivier Boscagli – 5**
Made some important challenges but consistently invited pressure with his slow build-up. Aimlessly wandered out of position to leave him playing catch-up several times.
**Maxim De Cuyper – 6 (Welbeck, 71’)**
Up against the energetic Daniel Munoz, the Belgian rose to the occasion. Looked to show his creative edge when offered time and space, but the movement in front of him limited his effectiveness.
**Carlos Baleba – 5 (Gomez, 71’)**
Started strongly before mistakes crept into his game. Misplaced a handful of passes inside his own half, gifting Palace possession in dangerous areas. Had to carry an immense workload in the [absence of his usual midfield partner, Yasin Ayari](https://thebrightonbase.com/brighton-team-news-predicted-xi-vs-crystal-palace-fabian-hurzeler-diego-gomez-yasin-ayari/).
**Pascal Gross – 5**
Enjoyed plenty of possession without making anything truly happen. Frequently looked to go over the top without success, with his crosses from open play lacking any sort of direction.
**Harry Howell – 6 (Minteh, 71’)**
A promising display from the debutant. Showed signs of real quality with his close control and bursts of pace, but his impact dwindled as the match went on. Nevertheless, he was a positive from a performance largely full of negatives.
**Charalampos Kostoulas – 6 (Hinshelwood, 82’)**
Looked to link up play centrally with some neat touches. Defensively, his display deserves plenty of credit too.
**Kaoru Mitoma – 6**
Appeared to have been instructed to look for long balls over the top, and thus, the Japan international did everything asked of him on that front. Lacked the service required to be truly influential.
**Georginio Rutter – 4 (O’Riley, 82’)**
Another afternoon to forget for the Frenchman as, again, he failed to show himself to best effect when leading the line for Brighton. Frequently squandered possession in good areas, with his desire to make up for his mistakes leading to the makeshift forward committing five fouls. Was fortunate not to have been withdrawn earlier.
**Substitutes**
**Diego Gomez – 5**
Injected some energy into the midfield but made a needlessly clumsy challenge late on, which saw Palace relieve the pressure on themselves. Booked.
**Danny Welbeck – 6**
His late introduction did him no favours in his efforts to impose himself on the contest. Failed to get on the end of any of his side’s long balls forward.
**Yankuba Minteh – 5**
His desperation to make things tick in the final third saw him misplace three of his seven passes. Dribbled into trouble twice as well.
**Jack Hinshelwood – 6**
Kept play ticking during the minimal time he had in possession.
**Matt O’Riley – 6**
Needed more time to truly get up to speed with the contest. Controlled some ill-weighted passes well.