Brighton had 75% possession and Wilfried Zaha wasn’t playing for Crystal Palace. Here’s Nick Ames’s report from the Amex.
Christian Benteke speaks to Sky Sports.
I think it’s a massive result. It wasn’t easy. We scored and they managed to come back. We put our life one the pitch and tried to defend as well as we could. It means a lot. We can be proud, it wasn’t easy. The plan was to be compact. We have been too open. It’s not easy, we have a lot of good players up front. I know my strengths and my qualities, and I have been ready when the gaffer needs me.
Oh Graham. Oh no.
📊 Total goal attempts for the 2 PL games between Brighton & Crystal Palace this season:
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) February 22, 2021
Brighton 45 shots (8 on target) - 1 point
Crystal Palace 4 shots (3 on target) - 4 points pic.twitter.com/KZ1Wz8ShqF
What a performance from Jordan Ayew, who set up both goals and defended like a demon. Palace look all but safe on 32 points while Brighton are right back in trouble.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 25 | 35 | 59 |
| 2 | Man Utd | 25 | 21 | 49 |
| 3 | Leicester | 25 | 17 | 49 |
| 4 | West Ham | 25 | 10 | 45 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 25 | 16 | 43 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 25 | 11 | 40 |
| 7 | Everton | 24 | 4 | 40 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 23 | 11 | 36 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 24 | 10 | 36 |
| 10 | Arsenal | 25 | 5 | 34 |
| 11 | Wolverhampton | 25 | -6 | 33 |
| 12 | Leeds | 24 | -3 | 32 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 25 | -14 | 32 |
| 14 | Southampton | 24 | -9 | 30 |
| 15 | Burnley | 25 | -12 | 28 |
| 16 | Brighton | 25 | -6 | 26 |
| 17 | Newcastle | 25 | -17 | 25 |
| 18 | Fulham | 25 | -11 | 22 |
| 19 | West Brom | 25 | -36 | 14 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 25 | -26 | 11 |
Full-time: Brighton 1-2 Crystal Palace
Two sucker punches from Palace strikers, two expert finishes, win the Neil Smillie derby. Graham Potter slumped in his seat when Benteke scored that. Roy Hodgson was exultant and Ray Lewington bellows his delight as Palace take the points.
Goal! Brighton 1-2 Crystal Palace (Benteke, 90+5)
Wow! Brighton take a free kick quickly. Burn tries to get the ball in but Palace hold their shape well. Ayew takes the ball on, and then it swings back across and Benteke volleys in.
Updated
90+2 min: Lallana spreads it wide but the ball is slow to come back in. White comes forward and can’t do anything with it. Palace will take their time over a goal kick.
90+1 min: Five minutes will be added on, and Eze departs the scene for Palace to be replaced by McCarthy,
90 min: White wins another corner with a flick on, and Welbeck misses the next one. The ball not dropping for Brighton but Palace’s defending has been exemplary too.
89 min: Oof. Jahanbakhsh’s shot is deflected wide by Cahill after Welbeck lays off the ball and sets up a shooting chance.
88 min: Veltman’s pass to Lallana is hit too hard. Brighton running out of legs here, and the draw seems highly likely right now.
87 min: Welbeck spins and spreads play. Veltman’s cross comes in and Palace again get back in numbers.
85 min: Cahill, now not so bloody, deals with some Brighton danger. Jahanbakhsh is also stopped in his tracks by Mitchell. Palace have defended well, it has to be said.
84 min: A Brighton short corner flops and Eze speeds away, only for Veltman to bring him down. Yellow card for the Brighton goalscorer.
83 min: Ray Lewington continues to be vocal. No wonder he can get away with just wearing shorts. His boys are hanging on well with Brighton perhaps flagging a little. Graham Potter, in modish scarf, is issuing instructions to his players but ideas seem to have run a little short.
81 min: Brighton sub, off goes Gross who has been quiet, unusually so, and on comes Jahanbakhsh.
80 min: Palace have a long ten minutes ahead though it may well race by for Brighton.
79 min: Benteke finds space and swings in a shot. He had more time than he perhaps realised.
78 min: And still it goes back at Palace’s defence. Joel Ward sweeps up before Ayew, again, buys time by winning a free kick off Burn.
76 min: Palace sub: Mateta off for Benteke. A fine goal but Mateta didn’t do much else in the game.
75 min: Guaita is alert to the danger when Maupay plays in Welbeck, then Veltman cues up Lallana for a shot that he wallops over the ball.
74 min: An actual Palace attack is stopped when Eze’s ball in is headed out by Dunk. The ball goes all the way back to Guaita.
72 min: Nick Willis has his say: “Surely that’s the price you pay for sitting back & protecting a 1-0 lead after half an hour. Jeez, who’d be a Palace fan? I don’t care if they insinuated their way to 6th spot, could you really bear to watch it?(No such worries for me on either count, I’m a Leeds fan)“
Dunk rises to a corner, then Maupay cuts in from the flank and tries to squeeze in a shot from the left. Guiata had spotted the danger.
71 min: Burn gets a decent cross in from the byline, and Lallana’s shot goes over, and seems to come off Cahill. It had looked to be heading in. No corner given though.
70 min: Cahill comes back on in a fresh shirt and two bits of cotton wool shoved up his hooter.
68 min: Brighton change: off goes Mac Allister and one comes Lallana to sprinkle a bit of his creative quality. Gary Cahill meanwhile is being stitched up on the sidelines.
66 min: More last-ditch stuff from Palace as shots rain down, and Riedewald is the latest to throw his body on the line. It’s all Brighton but they still don’t look quite capable of finding the quality. It’s been 19 shots to one. And the score is 1-1.
65 min: Mac Allister has a good chance to play in Welbeck but the ball is overhit, and then Welbeck has another chance when Maupay plays the ball to him but slightly behind him. Brighton win a couple of corners as they push on.
62 min: Palace take an age over this break in play while Koutaye is down. They are happy to take the sting out of the gathering storm from Brighton.
60 min: Brighton now pushing on, and Trossard tries to make incursions from the left and there is chaos in the Palace box as he has two shots blocked, and then Welbeck has a shot blocked. Burn whips one in, and eventually play stops as Kouyate falls to the floor under the impact of that Welbeck shot.
59 min: Any word on Joel Ward? Or Billy Joel?
Joel Veltman and Joelinton have both scored their only Premier League goals of the season against Crystal Palace.
— Richard Jolly (@RichJolly) February 22, 2021
58 min: The Brighton players picked up the ball to take it back to the centre circle. They clearly fancy getting three points from this.
56 min: Oh Roy, oh Ray, that’s the Palace plan up in smoke. And just when Palace were looking solid. A fine finish from the Dutchman.
Goal! Brighton 1-1 Crystal Palace (Veltman, 55)
Welbeck has a sniff of a chance and is tackled just as he shapes to shoot but the ball breaks to Veltman, and he hammers it home for his first goal for Brighton.
Updated
54 min: Stephen Crisp emails in: “Wait until Matt Burtz finds out about Neil Smillie’s other career choices. And also that The Rockford Files was the US version of Dixon of Dock Green.”
53 min: Dan Burn has already been a more effective left-back on the overlap than Alzate proved in the first half. He picks up a booking for fouling Ayew, who continues his good work, by sweeping up at the back.
51 min: Roy Hodgson looks nervy on the sidelines but his team have nailed his gameplan so far.
49 min: Veltman is tripped by Milivojevic, who suggest he made no contact. No booking though, suggesting it was appreciated by Kevin Friend as being the Palace man’s attempt to pull out of the tackle. Palace deal well with the resultant free kick.
47 min: Burn overlaps and loops in a cross. Palace only half clear it, and Welbeck can’t direct the ball goalward.
46 min: Welbeck will partner Maupay in what looks a 4-4-2 with Dan Burn going out to left back. Graham Potter clearly thinking Palace will want to sit on their lead.
Half-time change for Brighton, and it’s Danny Welbeck coming on for Alzate.
The Mateta goal, by the way, was the lesser spotted backheel and double nutmeg, going through both Ben White and Robert Sanchez.
What a finish 😍
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 22, 2021
Jean-Philippe Mateta has his first Palace goal and it is a beauty
📺 Watch on Sky Sports PL
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Matt Burtz gets back in touch: “Update: I’m 39 years old and didn’t know until today that Sanford and Son, which has one of the best theme songs ever, was a remake of Steptoe and Son. It was also intended to be the answer to All in the Family (itself a remake of Till Death Do Us Part, not that I need to tell anyone reading this that fact). Throw in The Office and it’s so much for American exceptionalism, eh?”
Half-time: Brighton 0-1 Crystal Palace
Mateta’s goal the shining light of a game lacking in quality, and particularly from Brighton’s attackers. Palace had one meaningful attack and scored from it.
45+1 min: One minute added on to the half. It closes out with Guaita claiming a corner from the skies.
Updated
44 min: Ward and Mac Allister clash in the air and fall heavily together to the floor. There will be no need for any concussion protocols as both are OK to continue.
Updated
43 min: Ayew, who has excelled at both ends, chases down a clearance, and Palace’s defenders can get some rest. The stats tell us Palace have had just three touches in the opposing box. They have a goal from that, too.
41 min: Ray Lewington looks to be in shorts, too. A man from the old school. Mike Phelan would approve. Mind you, it has been unseasonably warm in the south of England. Roy Hodgson, though, is in club issue jacket. Cast ne’er a clout til May be out, and all that. There’s a lockdown gag in there somewhere.
39 min: Palace seem to be pressing a little higher up the pitch, with the loud encouragement of Ray Lewington ringing in their ears as they do.
38 min: Dan Burn is penalised for clattering into Ayew, who goes down heavily and with a hearty roar.
36 min: Brighton pushing on, Palace sitting back. As might be expected. Townsend fouls Veltman and it’s a free-kick chance to get the ball into the big men. That comes back out to Mac Allister, whose shot is deflected off Joel Ward for a corner.
34 min: Ciaran Crowther gets in touch: “Brilliant ball by Kouyate to Ayew down the right for the goal. Maybe Roy could teach Jurgen Klopp a thing or two about converting midfielders into effective centre halves.”
33 min: It’s probably not outlandish to suggest that Palace may try and sit back on their lead. Mateta will be ploughing a lonely old furrow up there. Meanwhile, Veltman pings a shot wide.
31 min: Matt Burtz emails in: “I rather enjoy your MBMs because I’m forced to make a list of references that this ignorant American is unaware of and needs to look up on Wikipedia later. So far we have Ron Noades, Neil Smillie, Steptoe and Son, and John Gorman. Please keep them coming!”
Well, Matt, I used to work for an American company who didn’t appreciate this kind of stuff so I guess both of us are happier apart now. And thank you.
29 min: There was a moment there when Mateta stopped his celebration because he heard a whistle. No need, mate, there was nothing wrong with that finish.
Goal! Brighton 0-1 Crystal Palace (Mateta, 28)
Well well well. There we have it. Ayew’s burst down the right and beautiful backheel from the striker beyond Sanchez. What a goal!
Updated
27 min: Mateta is seen, at last. But sadly that’s for a foul in his own half. Meanwhile Trossard tries to angle in a shot first time but gets his angle all wrong.
25 min: Brighton have this game for the taking. But they do look a tad short of quality in the final not even third, the penalty box. And it’s not as if Palace are not conceding goals. They have let in 42 this season.
23 min: Palace have been not great when it comes to getting the ball forward but look solid enough in attack.
21 min: Graham Potter is on the sidelines, and the suggestion is he’s made some kind of tactical switch. You can tell this by his using his fingers to count the numbers he wants in each department. Think Glenn Hoddle and John Gorman in 1998.
19 min: Brighton put together a neat move which should have brought a goal. Veltman’s pass inside looks destined to be swept in by Maupay but Kouyate steps in front. That was decent defending.
17 min: Townsend goes down under a Dunk charge but the contact was minimal. A flicker of a Palace attack, at least.
15 min: This, it has to be said, is yet to ignite into reminding us why this is one of the hottest rivalries in the world football.
13 min: By the way, Palace had an attack, though one snuffed out by Lewis Dunk’s power.
Updated
12 min: The screamer has been identified. From our man on the scene: “It’s [Ray] Lewington doing the screaming. It’s not got a lot more technical than “good boy! good boy!”
11 min: Ward heads away the corner, beating the likes of Lewis Dunk to the punch.
10 min: Mateta can’t have touched it yet. Brighton keep attacking as Mac Allister forces a corner.
9 min: All Brighton, as Alzate has a shot blocked and Bissouma booms the ball over the bar.
7 min: Peter Oh shares two nuggets: “I find it mildly interesting that the Crystal Palace bench features not just one, but two former Liverpool right backs (Nathaniel Clyne and Martin Kelly).”
“This matchup reunites former Ajax Amsterdam teammates and excellent examples of first names that begin with J and are spiced up with a diaresis, Brighton’s Joël Veltman and Palace’s Jaïro Riedewald.”
So there.
5 min: Someone, presumably on the bench, is doing an awful lot of shouting. It doesn’t sound like Roy Hodgson, who when angry sounds like Harry H Corbett railing at Wilfred Brambell in Steptoe and Son.
4 min: Veltman sets off down the flank, Cahill comes across to clear. Brighton pushing on from the start. Palace circumspect so far.
2 min: Mateta is on his own up front for Palace. He’ll hope to have a better night than he did at Leeds a couple of weeks ago where he was, it has to be said, disappointing, though was given sod all service.
1 min: And away we go...all the players take the knee, with no Wilfried Zaha in the Crystal Palace team. He has said, of course, that he will no longer be taking it.
The stats are in.
8 - Brighton have never won a Premier League game on a Monday (D6 L2) – only Hull City (10) have played more games on this day of the week without ever winning in the competition’s history. Ominous. #BHACRY pic.twitter.com/myTR7iaoKh
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 22, 2021
18/20 - Crystal Palace have lost 18 of their last 20 Premier League games in which Wilfried Zaha hasn’t played, with the Eagles failing to score in 16 of those 18 defeats. Devoid. #BHACRY pic.twitter.com/4b1URtLrMO
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 22, 2021
The teams take to the field one after the other to follow Covid regulations though did look at reasonably close quarters in the Amex tunnel.
Graham Potter speaks to Sky Sports.
We have played ourselves into a better position. We have to keep going become we don’t have enough points. It’s a big game against our rivals. We know we have to fight. Everyone’s aware of the importance for the supporters. But every game in this league is so big and competitive. It’s the same as every game, really.
Roy Hodgson speaks to the BBC.
The fact that it’s Brighton adds that extra spice because it’s a match very important to the fans - and everyone at the club is aware of that. I think whatever team we’d have played after the last two results, where we’ve been below par, we’d have been anxious to show that we were better than that. It’s important to get out there and show the fans that the last two performances are not what they can expect from us.
More from the archives on that rivalry.
As it stands - and there is a big ‘if’ here - Brighton fans will be able to see Manchester City at the Amex and Arsenal will travel to the Selhurst Colosseum on the last day of the season.
That’s Brighton unchanged from their 0-0 draw with Aston Villa but Roy Hodgson ringing the Palace changes after losing 3-0 to Burnley. Scott Dann, Nathaniel Clyne, Patrick van Aanholt, Michy Batshuayi and Christian Benteke have all been dropped. In come Joel Ward, Gary Cahill, Tyrick Mitchell, Andros Townsend and Jean-Philippe Mateta.
And there is still no Wilfried Zaha.
Here are the teams
Brighton: Sanchez, Burn, Dunk, White, Veltman, Gross, Bissouma, Alzate, Mac Allister, Maupay, Trossard.
Subs: Steele, Connolly, Lallana, Moder, Jahanbakhsh, Welbeck, Tau, Propper, Zeqiri.
Crystal Palace: Guaita, Ward, Cahill, Kouyate, Mitchell, Milivojevic, Riedewald, Townsend, Eze, Ayew, Mateta.
Subs: Butland, Van Aanholt, Dann, Clyne, Benteke, McCarthy, Batshuayi, Kelly.
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)
Preamble
Alan Mullery, Terry Venables, Peter Taylor and Malcolm Allison, Seagulls versus Eagles, the M23. Ron Noades. Neil Smillie. Rather disturbing smells and stains in the away dressing room at the Amex. This is the rivalry that fans of other clubs find it difficult to get a handle on. Since the pair were reunited in the top division in 2017 it’s never quite managed to live up the hype. There’s been two draws in the last three meetings, with the last meeting at Selhurst though the last saw Brighton equalise with a 90th minute penalty goal from Alex Mac Allister.
Tonight’s game can see Brighton climb above Palace, who have not been on a good run. Neither are too thrilling to watch at the moment. Brighton might have beaten Premier League whipping boys Liverpool but draws with Burnley and Aston Villa either side of an FA Cup loss to Leicester has rather slowed down their pull away from the relegation zone. Palace were hopeless against both Leeds and Burnley, two matches played without Wilfried Zaha, who will be missing tonight, too.
The prediction can only be a thrilling 3-3 draw for the ages.
Kick-off at 8pm UK time. Join me.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 25 | 35 | 59 |
| 2 | Man Utd | 25 | 21 | 49 |
| 3 | Leicester | 25 | 17 | 49 |
| 4 | West Ham | 25 | 10 | 45 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 25 | 16 | 43 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 25 | 11 | 40 |
| 7 | Everton | 24 | 4 | 40 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 23 | 11 | 36 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 24 | 10 | 36 |
| 10 | Arsenal | 25 | 5 | 34 |
| 11 | Wolverhampton | 25 | -6 | 33 |
| 12 | Leeds | 24 | -3 | 32 |
| 13 | Southampton | 24 | -9 | 30 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 24 | -15 | 29 |
| 15 | Burnley | 25 | -12 | 28 |
| 16 | Brighton | 24 | -5 | 26 |
| 17 | Newcastle | 25 | -17 | 25 |
| 18 | Fulham | 25 | -11 | 22 |
| 19 | West Brom | 25 | -36 | 14 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 25 | -26 | 11 |
Updated
