The M23 derby was effectively over before many fans had settled into their seats. Brighton & Hove Albion put three goals past Crystal Palace inside the first ten minutes at the Amex on Sunday and went on to win 5-0, a scoreline that will sting in south London for a long time.
Palace defender Jaydee Canvot started the collapse by heading into his own net after four minutes. What came next will be replayed all season. Adam Wharton gave the ball away near the centre circle, Olivier Boscagli played it straight into Diego Gómez, and the Paraguayan turned and noticed that goalkeeper Walter Benítez had drifted far off his line. His strike from 51 metres soared over the stranded keeper and dropped into the net. No Premier League goal has been scored from further out since Wayne Rooney’s 58-metre effort for Everton against West Ham in 2017.Pundits were quick to call it the goal of the season already.
Three minutes later Yasin Ayari picked out the bottom corner for 3-0. Only nine teams in Premier League history have managed three goals in such a short spell; Newcastle were the most recent, when they ran riot against Spurs in spring 2023.
Palace never recovered. Charalampos Kostoulas turned in a loose ball for the fourth just after the break, and Jack Hinshelwood tapped in from close range six minutes from time. The numbers matched the mood: Brighton finished with 17 shots, nine of them on target, while the visitors tested the home goalkeeper exactly once.
For Gómez, who arrived from Inter Miami in January, it was his first goal of the campaign and his twelfth for the club. Brighton climb to 16 points, while Palace stay stuck on seven points.
