Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 Crystal Palace
Brighton won another three Premier League points, beating Crystal Palace despite going down to ten men.
Skipper Lewis Dunk was immense in the Seagulls’ backline after losing his partner Shane Duffy to a first-half red, and he watched in delight as his frontmen put the Eagles to the sword and romped 3-0 up by halftime.
With SBOBET odds favouring Crystal Palace, the hosts were marginal outsiders, but they only needed ten men to beat the visitors!
Highlights of the game
The Seagulls had a wing clipped but were flying throughout the first half, and that set up a fascinating second period. Brighton pressed from the off, but there was an element of controversy when they went ahead on 24 minutes.
Jose Izquierdo latched on to a weak defensive clearance and then fell under a challenge from James McArthur. While the midfielder clearly took the ball, the referee gave a penalty and Glenn Murray slammed home his eighth goal of the season.
Then in a moment of pure insanity, the hosts went down to ten men. Murray likes a penalty, but when his appeal for another was correctly turned down, Shane Duffy—for reasons known only to himself—head-butted Patrick van Aanholt and received a straight red card.
Chris Hughton brought Leon Balogun on to shore up the defence and then, guess what? With his first touch, he volleyed a clearance from Palace straight back and into the net for his first goal for the Seagulls. Fans at the Amex Stadium couldn’t believe their eyes.
Andros Townsend scored a world-class goal as the Eagles grabbed their first home win against Burnley at the weekend. He hit a powerful effort just before the break which was well saved by Mathew Ryan at the second attempt. And then, as Palace pushed to halve the deficit, Brighton incredibly went 3-0 up.
Florin Andone chased a long ball into Palace’s half and, when keeper Wayne Hennessey dithered, the Romanian striker pounced to fire a low shot into the bottom corner to make it three. It was Andone’s second goal in English football, having scored the winner against Huddersfield on Saturday.
Crystal Palace’s early season troubles have been magnified by a run of difficult games, and they were a little unlucky to lose in a recent home game against Spurs.
The Eagles also secured a point at Old Trafford, bossing Manchester United for much of the game.
However, they couldn’t complain about the way things stood at the break after defending like schoolboys. Make sure you catch the Premier League 2018 highlights of this 45 minutes. They have to be seen to be believed!
The onus was all on Palace to do something special in the second half. But they failed to make any real impact as they took turns to hit loose shots while Ryan happily watched on. The game looked to be fizzling out when the visitors were thrown a lifeline on 81 minutes. First-half hero Balogun turned villain when he slid into Wilfried Zaha. Luka Milivojevic cut the deficit to two from the resulting penalty.
Key statistics
Even though the two clubs are almost 50 miles apart, this game is a Derby. And it’s one the Seagulls quite like.
The last time they met here, Brighton won 2-1 in the FA Cup last January.
Brighton are making the Amex a fortress, with only one defeat in ten home games. And it’s the first time they have won a midweek game at the seventh attempt.
What’s next?
At the start of the season, the Premier League 2018 betting odds had Brighton as a relegation candidate. But there’s no sign of second season syndrome at the Amex, and they are in excellent shape to survive again with 21 points in the bag.
Next, the Seagulls make the long journey up North to face Burnley. The Clarets have made a shocking start to this season after qualifying for Europe last term. But Sean Dyche is made of stern stuff and will expect his team to launch its season against the Seagulls.
For Palace, it’s a testing London Derby with a trip over the East End to take on West Ham, who beat Cardiff tonight. Manuel Pellegrini has got the Hammers going nicely after their own bad start and has his eyes on a top ten place.
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