Brighton snap winless streak with 4-1 victory over Palace

Updated: Feb 3, 2024, 06:04 pm

Brighton ended a run of three Premier League games without a win with a 4-1 home victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday, a result which piles the pressure back on the visitors' manager Roy Hodgson.

Brighton moved up to seventh in the table, level on 35 points with eighth placed Manchester United, who host West Ham on Sunday, while Palace remain 14th, five points above the relegation zone.

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It was a performance and result which manager Roberto De Zerbi needed after the 4-0 loss at Luton Town on Tuesday, and the home support didn't have long to wait for the opening goal.

Brighton forced an early corner which Pascal Gross whipped in and Lewis Dunk made space for himself in the area and powered his header past Dean Henderson in the third minute.

"We had to react after Tuesday night where we were nowhere near it. We started on the front foot and it paid off," Dunk told the BBC.

The home side kept possession without creating too many chances after their early lead, but they then scored two goals in a minute to kill off Palace before halftime.

Brighton doubled their lead in the 33rd minute when the ball came to Tariq Lamptey on the left and his floated cross found Jack Hinshelwood at the back post who guided his header into the far bottom corner.

Brighton's victory over Crystal Palace was just their fourth in their last 17 Premier League matches.
Steven Paston/PA Images via Getty Images

That was 18-year-old midfielder Hinshelwood's third league goal of the season, having made his debut as a 90th-minute substitute on the final day of last season.

Any hope of a comeback for Palace was extinguished when Facundo Buonanotte made it 3-0 just a minute later.

Palace lost possession almost straight after the kickoff which allowed Gross to take the ball into the area, where he easily went past Joachim Andersen and flicked a pass to Buonanotte who struck first time into the top corner.

Palace fans have protested recently against the club's owners, and after that third goal went in another banner was unfurled in the away section.

The banner, aimed at the American owners and chairman Steve Parish, read: "No shared vision, no structured plan. Parish out, Yanks out".

"I think it is harsh, I think it is wrong. I think Steve Parish has done a fantastic job for the club," Hodgson said to BBC.

"We understand the fans are unhappy, we got beaten heavily at Arsenal and came here and our fans expected us to win the game and lost 4-1."

Hodgson's team threatened to spark a comeback in the 73rd minute as a relaxed Brighton defence switched off and Joachim Andersen's curling cross was headed home by Jean-Philippe Mateta, but they couldn't force a grandstand finish.

Brighton move up to seventh in the table, level on 35 points with eighth placed Manchester United who host West Ham United on Sunday, while Palace remain 14th, five points above the relegation zone.

De Zerbi's team wrapped the win up in style as Joao Pedro played a one-two with Danny Welbeck before poking the ball past Henderson with six minutes left to play.

Hodgson had found some relief after Palace's midweek win over bottom of the table Sheffield United but this heavy defeat will see his position come under further pressure.