Brighton & Hove Albion 4-1 Crystal Palace (3 Feb, 2024) Game Analysis

Brighton ended a run of three Premier League matches without a win with a 4-1 home victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday, a result which puts 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.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)

It was a performance and result that manager Roberto De Zerbi needed after the 4-0 defeat at Luton Town on Tuesday, and the home support did not have long to wait for the opening goal.

Brighton forced an early corner which Pascal Gross flicked over and Lewis Dunk made space in the box and powered his header past Dean Henderson in the third minute.

“We had to react after Tuesday night when we were nowhere near there. We started on the right foot and it paid off,” Dunk told the BBC.

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

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

It was 18-year-old midfielder Hinshelwood's third 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 immediately after the kick-off, allowing Gross to take the ball into the box, where he easily got past Joachim Andersen and played a pass to Buonanotte who struck for the first time in the skylight.

Palace fans recently protested against the club's owners, and after this third goal, another banner was displayed in the away section.

The banner, aimed at American owners and President Steve Parish, read: “No shared vision, no structured plan. Parish out, Yankees out.”

“I think it's harsh, I think it's wrong. I think Steve Parish has done a fantastic job for the club,” Hodgson told the BBC.

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

Hodgson's side threatened to spark a comeback in the 73rd minute as a relaxed Brighton defense fizzled out and Joachim Andersen's curling cross was headed in by Jean-Philippe Mateta, but they did not were unable to force a finish in the stands.

Brighton move 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 side finished off the victory in style as Joao Pedro played a one-two with Danny Welbeck before slotting the ball past Henderson six minutes from time.

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