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Throughout his managerial career, Graham Potter has had to learn to be patient. But even the Brighton manager must have given up hope after a second half in which his team unsuccessfully bombed Crystal Palace’s goal.
Ahead, thanks to a disputed penalty from Wilfried Zaha in the first half, his seventh goal against bitter rivals, it seemed that Roy Hodgson’s team had done enough to maintain the victory despite registering only one shot on goal compared to all 16 of his opponents. However, a last minute draw by substitute Alexis Mac Allister earned Brighton a share of the points that was no less than they deserved.
Potter’s path to the Premier League through Swedish team Östersund is strikingly similar to the journey made by Hodgson more than 40 years ago and for much of this match it was the more experienced man who looked like he would come out on top. But in a moody ending in which Lewis Dunk showed a red card for a lunge on his counterpart Gary Cahill, Potter will be relieved to have avoided a fourth loss in his first five games of the new season.
Palace’s hopes of clinching a first home win over rivals since April 2018 had been boosted before the start with the inclusion of Cahill for the first time this season after a long-term hamstring injury, one of the four changes since the 4-0 loss. to Chelsea a fortnight ago. To Hodgson’s relief, Zaha was also on hand after having sufficiently recovered from a groin injury he suffered on international duty for Côte d’Ivoire last week.
Having previously confirmed the signing of Danny Welbeck in a free transfer, Potter opted to leave Aaron Connolly on the bench and called Adam Lallana to his midfield, while Dan Burn and Tariq Lamptey, a height difference of 33 cm, were hired as laterals. . Lamptey has made quite an impression since arriving from Chelsea in January and seemed to be in the mood once again as the visitors got off to a brilliant start. It took all of Palace’s defensive talent to block his shot inside the box in the seventh minute, with the 20-year-old testing his marker Tyrick Mitchell several times in the opening bars.
But despite an effort by Yves Bissouma who whistled just past the post and Ben White’s shot after he intercepted a missed pass from Mitchell, Brighton once again had to pay for its waste. Palace had barely set foot in the opponent’s half until the 20th minute, when a tall cross from Andros Townsend initially seemed destined for Michy Batshuayi’s head but, to Potter’s surprise, Lamptey’s jerk on the player’s jersey was considered. Belgian striker. Sufficient contact from referee Stuart Attwell to justify a penalty. Having taken on penalty shootout duties against Manchester United last month, Zaha converted with poise.
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Brighton struggled to get back on track after that setback, with Palace, led by the impressive Jairo Riedewald in midfield, largely happy to sit back and defend his lead until the break. Having watched his team succumb to similar tactics during their 1-0 home loss to these opponents in February, Potter knew his players had a responsibility to pick up the pace and Brighton started the second half with much more purpose. Only a brilliant last resort intervention by Cahill denied Neal Maupay a draw before Batshuayi’s net breaker after a superb pass from Riedewald was ruled offside.
A more heroic defense by Joel Ward to block Maupay’s effort from close range shortly after ensured Palace held onto his slim lead. Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, Hodgson opted to switch to a 4-3-3 formation in an attempt to moderate Brighton’s growing attacking threat. It almost paid dividends until Mac Allister’s belated intervention, although even the Palace manager would have to admit that the three points would have flattered his team this time around.
