ISMAILA SARR inspired Crystal Palace to rip through rivals Brighton, with a helping hand from Michael Oliver.
The Eagles ended Fabian Hurzeler’s unbeaten home run in the Premier League, leaving The Amex stunned and silent.
Sarr, signed to replace Michael Olise, grabbed a superb double after Trevoh Chalobah opened the scoring against the run of play – with Oliver hindering Brighton’s defending in the build-up to the first goal.
Marc Guehi gave Brighton a late own goal but not even he will care on reflection.
It lifted Oliver Glasner’s men further from trouble at the bottom. After a rotten start to the season, they have now lost just one in their last eight.
Palace had not beaten Brighton in their last six attempts in this rather bizarre rivalry.
The way the visitors started looked as if that trend was set to continue.
Glasner was throwing his arms up in the air at his side’s attempts to play out, with Marc Guehi getting lucky on one occasion when robbed of the ball yards from the touchline.
But Brighton could not capitalise on Palace’s nervousness and the momentum swung thanks to Oliver’s shoulder and some shocking defending.
Palace began a rare break. Carlos Baleba moved to stop Eberechi Eze in his tracks but was prevented by the referee being in his path.
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As officials only need to stop the game if the ball hits them, play was allowed to continue and the Eagles won a corner and then another, from which they struck.
Will Hughes whipped a ball to the near post which, after missing Jean-Philippe Mateta, should have been easy to defend.
But Brighton made a mess of it. The ball struck Jean Paul van Hecke and fell for Sarr, unmarked yards from goal.
The winger could not quite connect, but Chalobah was also left alone and free to convert his second goal since joining from Chelsea.
Brighton collapsed from there. Palace were showing strength the hosts could not match.
Bart Verbruggen saved well from Daniel Munoz three minutes after the first, but was helpless to stop Sarr moments later.
The visitors clipped a deep free-kick out towards Tyrick Mitchell. Both he and Tariq Lamptey, who was hooked at the break, effectively ducked the header, leaving the ball to bounce off Mitchell’s back.
He turned and swung a fine cross to the far post, where Sarr had been allowed to glide between two blue and white shirts to nod in.
It could have been three before the break, though Eze headed just wide from a Munoz cross.
Julio Enciso was thrown on at the interval and Hurzeler, after spending the first half venting at officials, had clearly saved a bit of that anger for his players.
They emerged with an intensity which had been desperately lacking before half-time, though they could not keep it up.
Maxence Larcroix had to block an effort from Kaoru Mitoma before Dean Henderson made a smart stop from Lewis Dunk’s header.
The England keeper was hardly tested in the first half, but was far busier now, making a flying save to stop the electric Enciso.
Glasner made changes of his own, with Daichi Kamada and Eddie Nketiah coming on while Eze hobbled off.
Brighton had failed again to take advantage of Palace’s early wobble after the restart and soon the visitors were causing trouble again.
Munoz had the ball in the net for a third, what would have been his third in four games, but the goal was ruled out correctly for a foul by Sarr in the build-up.
With Nketiah through the middle Palace were again a threat on the break.
The former Arsenal man went close at the near post before feeding a ball through to Sarr, who was stopped by Verbruggen.
He was not to be denied next time around. Palace again showed more fight as Hughes and Nketiah beat their men to headers, sending Sarr in.
He beat Dunk to the ball before slotting past Verbruggen and making straight for the jubilant Palace fans.
Not even a late and chaotic Guehi own goal, after Henderson fumbled the ball at a corner, could dampen their spirits.
