Three goals, three red cards, and 12 minutes of stoppage time provided plenty of added intensity to an M23 derby that saw nine-man Crystal Palace beat 10-man Brighton at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Eberechi Eze set up Jean-Philippe Mateta’s brilliant opener and Daniel Munoz’s lead-restoring 55th-minute goal, and Palace fought through a pair of second-half red cards as Eddie Nketiah and Marc Gueho saw second yellows.
WATCH – Crystal Palace v Brighton full match replay
Danny Welbeck had the match 1-1 going into halftime with a nice glancing finish, but Brighton couldn’t find the equalizer despite playing up a man for 12 minutes then up two for six before Jan Paul van Hecke was sent off for the Seagulls in the sixth of a dozen stoppage-time minutes.
Palace move onto 43 points, good for 11th on the Premier League table. That’s four points back of eighth-place Brighton, who fail in a bid to join sixth-place Newcastle on 50 points.
Eze, Mateta, and Glasner need the keys to Selhurst Park
Palace played “will he or won’t he stay?” with Wilfried Zaha for so many years and barely got to play the same game with Michael Olise last summer. There are three more huge questions looming as Palace look set to finish another Premier League season in style to grease the pan for a possible European run in 2025-26: Will boss Oliver Glasner stay despite links to RB Leipzig? Will Palace resist big money offers to Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eberechi Eze? The question will also be valid for Marc Guehi and Adam Wharton, but elite attackers are worth their weight in gold and the Mateta-Eze combination gives Palace a chance to win games where things don’t go so well at the other end of the pitch.
Crystal Palace vs Brighton player ratings
(from fotmob.com)
Crystal Palace vs Brighton player ratings (from fotmob.com)
Crystal Palace vs Brighton player ratings (from fotmob.com)
What’s next?
Palace kick off Week 32 at Manchester City early Saturday, while Brighton host Leicester City that day at 10am ET.
How to watch Crystal Palace vs Brighton live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 10am ET Saturday (April 5)
Venue: Selhurst Park — London
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Stream live on Peacock
Crystal Palace vs Brighton final score: 2-1
Jean Philippe-Mateta, 3', Danny Welbeck 31', Daniel Munoz 55'
Red cards; Eddie Nketiah 78', Marc Guehi 90', Jan Paul van Hecke 90+6'
Crystal Palace vs Brighton live updates — By Nick Mendola
Full time — Crystal Palace 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Van Hecke red card
A second yellow to Brighton’s center back.
Daichi Kamada races onto a loose ball and Van Hecke feels no choice but to get in the way of the Japanese attacker.
It’s a second yellow, easy. Ten men versus nine now for the second half-dozen minutes of stoppage time.
Marc Guehi red card — Second yellow late + HUGE stoppage time
Guehi comes in high with studs showing and he’s seeing a second yellow as we hit stoppage time.
Palace will finish with nine men against their rivals.
Brighton will have 12 minutes stoppage time against nine men.
Nketiah red card — Two yellows in under 10 minutes
A red card off the bench with two yellows in short order.
The first was for the dive, the second looks so ugly.
Nketiah is turning to trap a high pass and his boot catches a stooping Van Hecke square in the face.
Here’s a real opening for Brighton get a point, up a man beginning in the 78th minute.
Eddie Nketiah called for dive
Munoz leads another Palace rush and his low cross is blocked by Van Hecke.
Eddie Nketiah is onto the rebound and touches by his man, exaggerating contact into a free fall.
It’s a yellow card. Still 2-1 Palace, 70'.
Daniel Munoz goal — Palace 2-1 Brighton (55th minute)
Eze sends the ball to the right flank for the marauding Daniel Munoz.
The right back hammers a shot that turns off the rear end of Pervis Estupinan, flying across goal and inside Bart Verbruggen’s far post.
Coming together ends Brighton rush
Kaoru Mitoma’s heavy touch after picking up Carlos Baleba’s pass leads to a desperation pass.
Mitoma gets the pass away and his follow-through catches Maxence Lacroix on the ankle.
It’s a less-intense version of the James Tarkowski clearance versus Liverpool at midweek, and perhaps one that wouldn’t have been called a foul had the Everton incident not been top of media mind from midweek.
Halftime — Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton
Brighton have been just a bit better in possession, shot attempts, and... pretty much everything except goals.
Jean-Philippe Mateta’s brilliant left-footed rip that opened the scoring and the margins are fine.
Again, we said just a bit better, and this game is very much up for grabs at Selhurst Park.
Danny Welbeck goal — Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton (31st minute)
Yankuba Minteh has just enough room on his left peg to whip in a cross in front of Marc Guehi.
Danny Welbeck has good-enough position on Daniel Munoz to make a lunging redirection past Henderson and tie the game at 1.
Double save from Dean Henderson!
Carlos Baleba powers his laces through a left-footed effort that swerves as it reaches Dean Henderson, who keeps his hand strong to push the ball away from goal.
Danny Welbeck’s on the case, but Henderson gets to his feet quickly and makes another save to keep it 1-0 to Palace into the 15th minute.
Jean-Philippe Mateta goal! Palace 1-0 Brighton (3rd minute)
What a finish from the moustache-sporting, headguard-wearing Frenchman.
Marc Guehi carries deep into the Brighton half, pushing the ball to a central Eberechi Eze.
The playmaker then plays Mateta into the box, and the forward slashes a gorgeous left-footed shot high inside the far post.
Crystal Palace lineup
Henderson, Munoz, Lerma, Lacroix, Guehi, Mitchell, Kamada, Wharton, Sarr, Eze, Mateta
Brighton & Hove Albion lineup
Verbruggen, Gomez, Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupinan, Baleba, O’Riley, Hinshelwood, Mitoma, Minteh, Welbeck
Crystal Palace vs Brighton preview — By Joe Prince-Wright
The Eagles are flying high, as they reached the FA Cup semifinals at the weekend where they will face Aston Villa at Wembley. However, Oliver Glasner’s side were a tad lucky to grab a point at bottom club Southampton on Wednesday through Matheus Franca’s 92nd-minute equalizer. They were struggling with a hangover from their FA Cup quarterfinal win at Fulham but still looked dangerous through Mateta, Eze and Sarr in attack.
Brighton lost 3-0 at home to Aston Villa on Wednesday as Fabian Hurzeler’s side dominated the game but couldn’t finish and Villa were ruthless. That defeat impacts their Champions League aspirations but the Seagulls are still in the hunt for European qualification. A win in this derby (they lost at home to Palace back in December) would be a nice boost after losing to Nottingham Forest on penalty kicks in the FA Cup quarterfinals last weekend.
Crystal Palace team news, focus
The Eagles have a very settled lineup and in attack Mateta, Eze and Sarr will lead the way. But they do have very useful options off the bench as Nketiah, Kamada, Chilwell and Franca made a big difference when they came on in midweek.
OUT: Cheick Doucoure (knee), Chadi Riad (knee) | QUESTIONABLE: Chris Richards (calf)
Brighton team news, focus
The injuries continue to mount up for Brighton with eight players out as Rutter and Webster are the latest key players to go down. There’s still plenty of quality in this Brighton side but Mitoma and Joao Pedro looked a little jaded against Villa in midweek. Welbeck, Minteh and O’Riley could all come in to start.
OUT: Joel Veltman (ankle), Adam Webster (thigh), Tariq Lamptey (ankle), Igor Julio (hamstring), Jason Steele (shoulder), James Milner (thigh), Ferdi Kadioglu (toe), Georginio Rutter (ankle)
Crystal Palace vs Brighton prediction
It feels like Palace will edge this one. They are balanced and well organized and Eze and Mateta hold the key and are both full of confidence. Crystal Palace 2-1 Brighton.
