Danny Welbeck scored a superb late header to earn Brighton a point in a 1-1 draw at rivals Crystal Palace.
Both sides were desperate for a victory, with Palace having won twice in 13 Premier League games and Brighton with two wins from 11 matches, but after Palace shaded the first period, Brighton improved after the break once Roberto De Zerbi made changes at half-time.
Jordan Ayew stooped to head the hosts in front in first-half injury time after Bart Verbruggen had given the ball away trying to play out from the back.
But with Welbeck and Facundo Buonanotte introduced at the interval, Brighton pushed hard for an equaliser which finally came when the 33-year-old striker rose to send a looping, inch-perfect header beyond the dive of Dean Henderson.
How Brighton fought back
The first half lacked quality between two out-of-form sides. Henderson was forced to parry two efforts from Simon Adingra and Pascal Gross while Verbruggen caught Jean-Philippe Mateta’s long-range strike.
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Jordan Ayew times his run to perfection at the far post before heading in to give Crystal Palace the lead
Verbruggen, though, was at fault in the final minute of the half when Chris Richards pressed him well, forcing the goalkeeper to rush his pass out which was intercepted. Will Hughes teed up Michael Olise, who delivered a perfect cross for Ayew to steer a header into the bottom corner.
De Zerbi sent his team out early for the second half and they produced a much better performance. Buonanotte gave them more purpose in the final third, driving Palace deep into their own half.
Brighton right-back Jack Hinshelwood arrived several times in good positions in the Palace area, seeing a penalty appeal waved away when he kicked the ground and then firing over from Gross’ low cross.
Palace introduced Eberechi Eze from the bench although he couldn’t provide the spark they needed, lacking conviction when well-positioned in the Brighton area as his shot was blocked by Jan Paul van Hecke.
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Danny Welbeck gets up brilliantly to meet the cross and head into the back of the net
Finally, Brighton’s pressure told when Gross’ cross from the right was met by Welbeck’s head to send a looping effort into the top-right corner.
Welbeck nearly inadvertently steered in a winner when Henderson’s erratic punch deflected back off the striker and rolled wide.
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Dean Henderson was fortunate that his error went unpunished as the ball went just wide of the post after rebounding off Danny Welbeck
Opta Stats: Brighton still to keep a clean sheet
- This exact fixture has ended 1-1 for the fifth time in a row, the joint-longest run of an exact fixture producing the same scoreline in the Premier League (also Tottenham at home to Manchester City between 2005 and 2009, five 2-1s).
- Brighton are without a clean sheet in their last 22 Premier League games, the club’s longest run without a shutout in the competition while the last team to endure a longer such run was Watford (30 games between March 2020 and January 2022).
- Brighton have come from behind to earn 13 points in the Premier League this season, a haul bettered only by Liverpool (18).
- Jordan Ayew became only the sixth Crystal Palace player to hit 20 goals in the Premier League for the club, joining Wilfried Zaha (68), Christian Benteke (35), Luka Milivojevic (28), Chris Armstrong (23) and Andy Johnson (21).
- Brighton’s Pascal Gross registered his 70th goal involvement in the Premier League (29 goals, 41 assists), with Mesut Ozil the only German with more (87 – 33 goals, 54 assists).
What’s next?
Crystal Palace’s next game is at Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday; kick-off 7.30pm. The Eagles then host Brentford on Saturday December 30; kick-off 3pm.
Brighton are next in action when they host Tottenham in the Premier League on Thursday; kick-off 7.30pm.
The Seagulls then travel to West Ham on Tuesday January 2, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 7.30pm.
Tuesday 2nd January 7:00pm
Kick off 7:30pm
