Wilfried Zaha scored on his 400th Crystal Palace appearance before Maupay broke the Eagles heart with an injury time goal.
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Brighton and Hove Albion’s impressive start to the Premier League season continues as they secure a last-gasp 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday. Wlifried Zaha, who was making his 400th Crystal Appearance, marked the occasion with the opening goal from the penalty spot. Meanwhile, just when the hosts looked like going away with three points, Neal Maupay scored a stoppage time equalizer. The goal came on the stroke of the final whistle and rescued a point for Graham Potter’s side. Brighton came into the match on the back of a four game winning run. Palace, meanwhile, were hoping to shrug off the 3-0 defeat suffered against Liverpool.
The first shot on target of the match was from Crystal Palace forward Odsonne Edouard. But the Frenchman’s attempt was straight to the hands of Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. Meanwhile at the other end, Danny Welbeck chased down a long pass from the back. However, his attempted lob went straight to the keeper’s hands.
Chances were few and far between as both sides struggled to open up the opposition’s defence. However, just before the break, Conor Gallagher earned a penalty. The Chelsea loaneer was brought down by Leandro Trossard inside the box.
Zaha stepped up and smartly slotted the ball into the net after sending goalkeeper Sanchez in the wrong direction. It was the Ivory Coast international’s 70th goal for Crystal Palace since joining the club permanently from Manchester United in 2015.
After the break, Brighton captain Lewis Dunk’s header from a free-kick was tipped over the crossbar by Crystal Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.
Patrick Viera’s side had a golden opportunity to extend the lead. Brighton lost the ball in the middle of the park and Palace launched a quick breakaway move. Benteke laid the ball to Jordan Ayew on the right side of penalty area but the Ghanaian’s shot hit the side-netting.
Few moments later, the hosts were made to pay for the missed opportunity as Brighton equalized. Five minutes of injury time was awarded by the referee and in the last minute of stoppage time, Maupay got behind the defender to get at the end of a long ball before lifting it over Guaita to make the score 1-1.
There were feisty scenes at the full-time whistle with James McArthur and Sanchez squaring up to one another before Brighton’s players were seen having verbal exchanges with Palace fans at the tunnel area.
Potter said: “It is a difficult place to play so we are happy with the point. It was a fantastic finish from Neal and a great pass from Joel.
“We are delighted. It is 13 from six games. Performance-wise we were far from perfect but we still deserved something from the game.
“What the league says after six games isn’t something we think a lot about. But it is a good start and a good foundation.”
After the draw, Brighton are sixth in the points table with thirteen points from six games whereas Crystal Palace are at the 15th spot with six points from as many games.
