Ismaila Sarr was the Crystal Palace hero with a superb two-goal performance to earn his side a memorable 3-1 victory at rivals Brighton.
Sarr netted the second goal of a six-minute Palace double during the first half before capping a wonderful display by adding a third late in the second half.
Palace, now four points above the relegation zone, became the latest bottom-five side that Brighton, now winless in four and ninth, have failed to beat this season, adding to Ipswich, Wolves, Southampton and Leicester.
Trevor Chalobah’s opener at a corner from a loose ball that dropped in the six-yard box after brushing Sarr’s left arm was cleared by VAR but Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler was furious with a different incident in the build-up to the goal. He felt referee Michael Oliver had impeded his midfielder Carlos Baleba during the Palace break that led to the set-piece.
“When the referee says after the game it’s his mistake, I don’t understand why he doesn’t stop the game. It’s unbelievable,” said Hurzeler.
Sarr compounded Hurzeler’s frustration minutes later when he nodded home Tyrick Mitchell’s left-wing cross to put Palace in dreamland.
Brighton had dominated the opening 25 minutes although had only forced Dean Henderson into one meaningful save from Kaoru Mitoma’s early low drive.
However, it was a sign of things to come from Henderson, who was excellent after the break when Brighton brought on Juilio Enciso and moved to three at the back to launch wave after wave of attacks on the visiting goal.
Ismaila Sarr heads Crystal Palace into a 2-0 lead at Brighton
Henderson stood up to the challenge, parrying Lewis Dunk’s header from a corner and then tipping Enciso’s curling effort around the right post.
Palace weathered the storm and had a Daniel Munoz tap-in ruled out for a foul on Pervis Estupinan before Sarr drove through the middle of the Brighton defence and finished coolly past Bart Verbruggen.
There was still time for Marc Guehi to be struck by a clearance in his own box at a corner which diverted the ball into the net for a Brighton consolation before Henderson capped his fine display with a sprawling save from Enciso’s shot.
Henderson: Palace are in a false position – I felt unbeatable
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Dean Henderson is in fine form as he stops Brighton from scoring once again!
Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson told Sky Sports:
“It’s absolutely massive. The fans have been patient with us this season. We are in a false position, we have great players and today it all clicked.
“We knew they would come out [in the second half] and it would be hard. Luckily I helped the team.
“When you’re in that moment, you feel good, you feel unbeatable. Thankfully we got the third but unfortunately we conceded at the end.
“They [the fans] have been on at us all week, telling us you can be a hero if we win this game.”
Hurzeler: We lacked killer instinct
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Fabian Hurzeler says his side missed the killer touch in the final third against their rivals Crystal Palace
Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler told Sky Sports:
“The goals we conceded are too easy. You can’t concede these easy goals.
“We showed a good reaction in the second half, we had some big chances but then the game is getting more and more difficult because they are getting more and more compact.
“It is tough but we have to learn from these things and improve. In the end we had the chances. The goalkeeper saved two or three big chances but we were not clean enough in the final third. We missed the killer instinct to get the goal.
“It is tough because we have had several of these days where we have to talk after a bad experience. You have to let these lessons teach you and find a solution.”
Glasner: We’re looking up but can play better
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Oliver Glasner says beating rivals Brighton is the best Christmas gift that his side can give to their fans
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner told Sky Sports:
“We were always dangerous, we took our chances and it is great win for us and our fans.
“We look up, in front of us, and it was a massive chance for us to reduce the gap to the teams in front of us. But we don’t talk about the table, we talk about our performance. The positive thing is we can play better.
“It’s a very important game for us, it’s a very important game for our fans and I told the players it was the best Christmas gift we could give them because they are always behind us.”
