Ismaila Sarr’s stunning brace secured a 3-1 victory for Crystal Palace in the fierce M23 derby, as they triumphed over rivals Brighton at the Amex Stadium.
The Eagles claimed their first win in seven attempts against the Seagulls, with Trevoh Chalobah also scoring a controversial opener.
Having struggled through a winless run in their opening eight games this season, Palace have now lost just once in their last eight outings.
On the other hand, Brighton, led by Fabian Hurzeler in his Premier League debut, endured a frustrating afternoon as they fell short in this intense rivalry.
Brighton felt aggrieved early on when Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson avoided a red card after charging out of his area to challenge Yankuba Minteh, his foot dangerously high, though not as close to Minteh’s head as initially suggested. Despite this, Palace took the lead against the run of play in the 27th minute.
Eberechi Eze advanced the ball into Brighton’s half after a blocked tackle by referee Michael Oliver on Carlos Baleba.
A corner followed, and when Brighton failed to clear Will Hughes’ near-post delivery, Chalobah reacted quickest to smash the ball into the top corner. The goal survived VAR checks for offside and handball before being given.
The Eagles extended their lead just five minutes later when Tyrick Mitchell outmuscled Tariq Lamptey in a challenge for a high ball. He then delivered a pinpoint cross for Sarr, who finished with a header at the far post.
Brighton almost conceded a third before the break when Daniel Munoz’s cross found Eze, but his header narrowly missed the target.
At half-time, Brighton made a change, replacing Lamptey with Julio Enciso to inject some energy into their attack. Almost immediately, Kaoru Mitoma’s goal-bound shot was cleared off the line by Maxence Lacroix, and Lewis Dunk’s header was stopped by Henderson.
The Palace goalkeeper then pulled off a brilliant diving save to deny Enciso’s curling shot.
Munoz had a goal ruled out after Sarr was penalized for a foul on Pervis Estupinan. However, with eight minutes left, Sarr struck again, holding off Dunk to finish past Seagulls keeper Bart Verbruggen.
Brighton pulled one back from a corner when Marc Guehi inadvertently turned the ball into his own net, but Henderson continued to stand firm, saving a powerful shot from Enciso to keep the scoreline intact and ensure Palace’s victory as they returned to south London with all three points.
