Brighton's first-half burst sinks Palace as pressure mounts on Hodgson | first division

It's hard to imagine how this could have been worse for Roy Hodgson. As the crystal Palace Watching his team dismantled by their bitter rivals as the boos of the visiting team rang in his ears, the former England manager cut a disconsolate figure on the touchline.

After falling behind due to Lewis Dunk's initial header, the oldest manager in Premier League history once again feared for his future as Jack Hinshelwood and Facundo Buonanotte scored quickfire goals to record Brighton's biggest win in this match since which were promoted in 2017.

The disgruntled visiting fans once again took aim at chairman Steve Parish, who watched in horror as new signing Adam Wharton gave the ball away for the third goal and then Michael Olise was injured again minutes after being introduced from the bench to join Eberechi Eze . and Captain Marc Guehi on the treatment table.

Some Palace fans were heading for the exits when the ball hit the back of the net for the third goal, and a banner first seen during the 5-0 annihilation of Arsenal a fortnight ago was again aired. “There is no shared vision. No structured plan. Parish outside. He retires.” The Palace chairman made a sheepish face as the television cameras cropped him in the directors' box. But for Hodgson, who need not be reminded that his predecessor Patrick Vieira was sacked after losing 1-0 here in March, this was certainly a new low despite Jean-Philippe Mateta getting the consolation before that João Pedro completed the victory for Roberto De On Zerbi's side.

His 76-year-old counterpart had hinted that the hamstring injury that forced Eze to retire in midweek would see him miss the trip to the south coast, with the England midfielder sent for a scan on Friday. But the decision to start Olise on the bench as a precaution while he returns from injury ended up backfiring spectacularly, while new signing Daniel Muñoz struggled after being thrown into the deep end following his arrival this week.

De Zerbi's response to the 4-0 thrashing of Luton was to make four changes, including the first start since late November for Tariq Lamptey. It was his first foray down the left flank that led to the corner from which Dunk had the freedom of Falmer to finish off a precise cross from Pascal Gross.

The Brighton manager received a yellow card after expressing his disappointment when Muñoz appeared to touch the ball outside the area as the Colombian defender fell to the ground with Pedro looming dangerously.

Hodgson, who saw his team concede within 20 seconds against Sheffield United before coming from behind to win 3-2 on Tuesday in a match that was tipped to be do or die, could not hide his frustration as Palace struggled against opponents who clearly had a point to win. prove it after going three league games without scoring. There would be much more pain to come.

While this fixture is starting to become one of the Premier League's most established derbies, it has never been known as a goal fest, with four of the previous five ending in 1-1 draws. But Brighton smelled blood and advanced en masse in search of a second. They almost found it when Buonanotte outjumped the giants in the Palace defense but could only direct his header at Dean Henderson.

Disaster struck for the visitors when Guehi was forced to leave the match with a knee injury and within five minutes they were three goals down. Tyrick Mitchell was guilty of the second as Hinshelwood showed more desire to connect with a Lamptey cross before Wharton, replacing Guehi, gave possession to Brighton in midfield and Buonanotte completed a great move with an assist from Gross .

The away fans appeared to return to full capacity at the start of the second half when Olise came into action and greeted Palace's first corner of the game in the 50th minute with ironic cheers. But there was little to smile about when Olise limped off shortly afterwards, apparently injuring her hamstring once again.

Palace could have found a way back into the game after Mateta's consolation had Olise's replacement Matheus Franca taken his chance. But it was Pedro who closed out an afternoon to savor for the home fans and an afternoon to forget for Hodgson, who must now wait to see if he has performed the last act of his as Parish made a hasty exit after the final whistle.