Albion 5 Crystal Palace 0: Gomez scores from the halfway line

Brighton & Hove Albion^1,2,3 beat Crystal Palace 5-0 at the Amex on Sunday. It was their sixth successive win and the first time since 1956 that Albion have scored five against Palace.

Albion scored three times in the first 10 minutes. After five, a Pascal Gross free-kick from the left was headed past his own keeper, Walter Benitez, by Palace defender Jaydee Canvot.

Two minutes later Diego Gomez saw that Benitez had come out beyond his six-yard box. He took a touch and drove a shot from a yard inside the Palace half over the keeper and into the net. The club put the distance at 51.3 yards, the longest distance a Premier League goal has been scored from since Wayne Rooney in 2017. Only seven players have scored from further out in the league’s history.

Albion broke again from midfield and Babis Kostoulas played the ball across goal for Yasin Ayari, unmarked, to sweep a right-foot shot into the bottom corner from about 12 yards. That made it 3-0 after nine minutes and 30 seconds, the earliest any Premier League team had scored three goals since April 2023.

Benitez kept the score down before the break with a fingertip save from a Ferdi Kadioglu shot. Four minutes into the second half, Gross crossed from the left, Ayari’s shot was blocked and Kostoulas lifted in the rebound with his left foot.

Palace substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta hit the bar from six yards with only Bart Verbruggen to beat. Seven minutes from time Luka Vuskovic met a corner with a header, Benitez parried it, and substitute Jack Hinshelwood, an academy graduate, scored from a yard in front of the north stand. Gross finished with two more assists.

What Hurzeler said

Head coach Fabian Hurzeler said: “It’s just a privilege to be part of this group.”

“I hope the fans can enjoy the night. It’s a much better feeling than a few months ago when we lost to Palace and that’s why I’m really happy for the supporters and for everyone who was involved.”

He added: “We can enjoy it, but on the other side it’s also very important to stay humble and stay grounded because in football things can change quickly.”

What’s next

Albion travel to FK Jablonec in the Conference League on Thursday 22 October, kicking off at 5:45pm UK time. Three days later they are at Anfield to play Liverpool, on Sunday 25 October at 2pm.