Ismaïla Sarr scores twice as Crystal Palace dominates Brighton | Premier League

If Michael Oliver isn’t on Oliver Glasner’s Christmas card list, the Crystal Palace manager might want to get one in the post before it’s too late. With his team struggling to break free from Brighton’s onslaught in their own half, it was the referee who was responsible for the decisive moment of the game midway through the first half.

Fabian Hürzeler was outraged by Oliver’s decision to let the game continue after Carlos Baleba was obstructed by the official during a Palace attack in the netherfield and Trevoh Chalobah added to his woes by firing the ball into the goal from the resulting corner . Still, the Brighton manager will be disappointed with how his side let their emotions get the best of them as Ismaïla Sarr scored twice to give Palace a memorable win over their arch-enemies that ended their unbeaten record at home this season.

The only blemish for Palace was Marc Guéhi’s late own goal, which denied the otherwise outstanding Dean Henderson a deserved goal, although that would not have particularly mattered to the jubilant away fans after they suffered the ignominy of a 4-1 defeat here in February under Roy Hodgson .Hürzeler revealed this week that he has been in contact with Glasner since he took office in the summer, describing the Austrian as a “role model” from his time in German football.

He may be 19 years younger than his counterpart, but Brighton were 10 places ahead of their bitter rivals going into this game, despite failing to win in their last three games after briefly finishing second at the end of last month. Hürzeler recalled that Yankuba Minteh, replacing Evan Ferguson, had blown a 2-0 lead against Leicester last week, while Palace remained unchanged from the draw against Manchester City.

These opportunities are not for the faint of heart and – spurred on by the home crowd – it was Brighton who seemed most fired up from the start when Kaoru Mitoma fired straight at Henderson after João Pedro’s fine shot over the shoulder. The Palace goalkeeper was then perhaps lucky not to be penalized as he burst out of goal to clear a through ball and crashed into Minteh.

Glasner looked increasingly frustrated as his side were forced back into their own half, failing to overcome Brighton’s aggressive pressing, led by the colossal Baleba. It took the help of Oliver – who later apologized for his mistake – to finally get past the Cameroon midfielder when the referee inadvertently blocked his tackle on Eberechi Eze. Palace took full advantage of the resulting corner as Chalobah fired home from close range, with Hürzeler making his feelings known to the fourth official on the touchline, although the regular officials only have to stop play if the ball hits them.

Things could have been even worse for Brighton if Bart Verbruggen hadn’t saved well with his legs from Daniel Muñoz. But Palace clearly smelled blood and when a marauding Tyrick picked out Mitchell Sarr at the back post and headed home, the away fans could not contain their joy. Hürzeler, meanwhile, looked stunned and must have been relieved when Eze’s header from a cross from Muñoz went just wide just before half-time.

His response was to withdraw Tariq Lamptey for the second half and switch to a back three, with Julio Enciso coming off the bench. The game was similar to the first half as Palace defended deep and it took a crucial block from Max Lacroix to deny Mitoma after he found space in the box. A sharp save from Henderson prevented Lewis Dunk’s header from avoiding a free-kick when it seemed easier to score, before the England goalkeeper was able to turn Enciso’s curler around the post at full strength.

A careless back pass from Pervis Estupiñán, which almost embarrassed Verbruggen, would have ended Brighton’s hopes of a comeback. The Ecuadorian again almost gave Palace a third goal when he was unsure about a bouncing ball and Muñoz smashed Sarr’s pass into the goal, but Oliver ruled the ball a foul on the Senegalese striker.

Hürzeler launched an attack on the Kavalry with 20 minutes to play, and substitute Brajan Gruda came close to halving the deficit with a free kick. But when Dunk gave way in defense, the outstanding Sarr was able to score his second goal of the afternoon and ensure that the Red and Blue’s persuasive skills had bragging rights.