Brighton go ‘old-school’ to rescue point against Palace

Brighton might struggle to keep clean sheets but they can score – they have come from behind to earn 13 points in Premier League this season

Roberto De Zerbi has built his reputation on ultra-modern passing football, on deconstructing opponents with surgical precision, but on this occasion he was thankful for a goal that was wonderfully old-school in execution and style.
The game evolves with every season, and managers like De Zerbi are key to that. And yet for all the tactical changes in the Premier League, there is still so much joy to be found in the simple art of a striker flexing his neck and heading the ball through the night air.
Danny Welbeck has scored better goals in his life but it is hard to imagine he has scored many better headers. With his Brighton team trailing to their fiercest rivals, and only eight minutes remaining on the clock, the 33-year-old soared into the sky to attack a hopeful cross.
The subsequent effort was remarkable in its trajectory – somehow powerful yet also looping – and suddenly Brighton were alive again. Welbeck might have gone on to win it a few minutes later, but could only fire over the bar from a tight angle.
The late equaliser was a deserved one for Brighton, who struggled in the first half but totally dominated the second. Palace had taken the lead through Jordan Ayew but they showed little appetite to build on that advantage, and by the end Roy Hodgson was happy to claim a point.
This is not a local rivalry but it is a fierce one, and Palace were keen to create a sense of occasion in front of their own fans. A pre-match lights show, with accompanying fireworks, was an attempt by the club to set the tone before kick-off.
The problem with such a hyped-up approach is that the style of football under Hodgson rarely fits with the blood-and-thunder atmosphere. Palace came into this game on a run of four consecutive home defeats and, understandably, they prioritised caution at the start of the night.
Brighton were hardly much more adventurous, in truth, and it took almost 20 minutes for the first chance to be created. It fell to Brighton’s Simon Adingra, whose firm shot was saved by Dean Henderson between the Palace posts.
Palace are a functional team, especially when Eberechi Eze is not fit enough to start, but in Michael Olise they have a player who can always conjure something out of nothing. Olise’s willingness to take risks helped to build some momentum for the home team, who began to dominate the game by the end of the first half.
It was Olise, to the surprise of no one in Selhurst Park, who opened up the Brighton defence for Ayew’s goal. A beautifully measured cross to the back post, where Ayew had the simplest of headers.
Ayew’s finish means that Brighton have now gone 22 successive league matches without keeping a clean sheet. Injuries are proving to be the biggest hurdle for De Zerbi this season but the defensive errors are not helping, either, and there was no one within reach of Ayew as he stooped to score.
The demands of European football on Thursday nights are never easy to deal with and Brighton are learning that lesson this season. Before this trip to Selhurst Park, they had won just two of their past 11 matches in the Premier League.
Brighton were never going to go quietly, though, and a team of their offensive quality was always going to cause headaches. Billy Gilmour went close after the break, as did Kaoru Mitoma, as the Brighton attacks began to hit the Palace defence like waves against the shore.
The equaliser, when it came, was a moment of footballing beauty. Not just for the travelling Brighton fans, but also for any neutrals. Climbing high, a long way from goal, Welbeck lifted his header up and into the top corner of Henderson’s net.
What a HEADER from Danny Welbeck! 😮💫 pic.twitter.com/GpDfOTjJ53
From there it felt like Brighton’s game to win, as Palace struggled to find a way out of their own penalty box, let alone their own half. By the end the home fans were pleading with their players to push up the pitch, to evacuate their own area, but they could not.
Those home fans also pleaded for the final whistle, which said it all about the direction the game had taken since Welbeck’s arrival off the bench. He changed the night, producing what will surely be one of the great headers of this season, and in the end Palace were grateful that he had not done more damage.