Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton: Maupay involved in daylight robbery
They say it is never over until the fat lady sings or in this case, until Wilfried Zaha is having a temper tantrum on the Selhurst Park pitch in the 95th minute of Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton.
For much of the preceding 94 minutes, it looked like we were going to have one of those Typical Brighton moments on our hands.
The Albion arrived in Croydon having made their best ever start to a top flight season, winning six games out of seven in all competitions and knowing that three points would take them top of English football for the first time in their 120 year history.
It was therefore fairly obvious what was going to happen. Brighton would give their worst performance of the season so far and lose to their arch rivals, handing Palace the bragging rights which they so regularly hold.
That was set to be the case right up until the final 30 seconds. A shank from Vicente Guaita, a delightful volleyed ball back over the Palace defence from Joel Veltman and a cool-as-you-like finish from Neal Maupay later and the Albion had stolen a point.
The Metropolitan Police seemed less bothered about kettling Seagulls supporters around the grim streets of Croydon afterwards, presumably because they were busy issuing a warrant to arrest Maupay for daylight robbery.
This late, late drama sparked scenes across Selhurst which were to put it mildly, incredible. Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk both gave it big to the Holmesdale End before legging it 90 yards down the pitch.
Goodness knows what Sanchez got up to, but he was booked for whatever it was before nearly managing to start a mass brawl between Brighton players and some Palace fans as the team headed down the tunnel when leaving the pitch.
Maupay was a complete shithouse, as per normal. He cupped his ears to the Supermarket Stand, causing Zaha to lose his mind.
Poor ickle Wilf. It is okay for him to goad the Albion support – as he did when giving Palace their deserved first half lead from the penalty spot – but when Maupay does exactly the same celebration to the home fans, he cries and whinges about it like a teenager whose just been told they cannot stay up to watch Married At First Sight. Bless him.
As for what was going on in the away end, all hell broke loose. Suddenly, not seeing Brighton top of the Premier League for the first time was a willing exchange for the sheer, unbridled joy that comes with denying your bitter rivals three points in a game where even someone wearing the most hyper-turq of spectacles would have to admit that Palace deserved to win.
There was of course a certain irony to all this. Seven months ago and Palace had come to the Amex and managed two touches in the Brighton penalty area all evening.
The first of those saw Jean-Phillipe Mateta give the Eagles the lead. The second saw Christian Benteke hit a 95th minute winner to make it Brighton 1-2 Palace. How joyous for the boot to be on the other foot this time around.
This was another one of those games that showed that the Brighton of 2021-22 are a different beast to last year’s side, who despite recording 25 shots and 75 percent in that game back in February could not turn it into any points against the Eagles.
Here, Brighton were outplayed and yet found a way to leave Selhurst with something to show for their below-par efforts.
The experiences of last year have made the Albion more streetwise and resilient and that is why they did not completely wilt under a lot of Palace pressure and with an Eagles crowd baying for blood.
When the teams were announced and the Albion’s starting line up for Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton showed no Yves Bissouma, the key battleground always looked like being in the middle park.
Graham Potter went with Pascal Gross alongside Adam Lallana, a decision that would have been sensible had Brighton been able to make the most of Gross’ set piece deliveries.
Instead, they earned only one corner in the first half. Palace pressed and pressed and without the dynamic Bissouma present to read the game, break up attacks, win back possession and get the Albion on the front foot as only he can, Brighton struggled to get any sort of foothold in the game.
If you have ever wondered how important Bissouma is to the Albion, this was indicative of it. He is the metronome that gets Brighton ticking and suddenly, the challenge of replacing him when he does inevitably move on to one of Europe’s biggest clubs looks a little more daunting.
Potter’s other big selection call worked out reasonably well. Dan Burn came in for Solly March, freeing up Joel Veltman to play at right wing back against Zaha.
Other than burying a penalty past Sanchez with seconds of the first half remaining and then having a hissy fit at the end, it was an unusually quiet evening in Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton for their Golden Child.
There could be no real arguments against Andre Mariner’s decision to point to the spot, even if some Albion fans did try and claim it was a little fishy.
Leandro Trossard made a clumsy tackle in the box to send the outstanding Conor Gallagher to ground when the Albion looked like they were going to make it to half time unscathed.
We have long trumpeted the comparisons between Trossard and Paul Brooker as two skilful wingers who have a habit of hibernating in winter.
The similarities now extend to both giving away penalties against Palace when making very, very, very rare tackles in their own half of the pitch.
Brighton had a half hearted penalty appeal of their own when a pinpoint launch up the pitch from Sanchez released Danny Welbeck.
Dat Guy was bearing down on goal and managed to get a shot away, after which he tried to claim to Mr Mariner that he had been impeded by Joel Ward. Mr Mariner instead felt Welbeck had floundered with the opportunity and waved play on.
There were very few other chances in the first half for either side. That would have been disappointing for Palace, who surely would have wanted to do more with their dominance.
Potter sought to break the Eagles’ monopoly of the ball by introducing Steve Alzate at half time in place of Burn. A tactical reshuffle saw a switch to a back four with Alzate charged with adding the energy and drive to the Albion midfield that Bissouma normally provides and which was sorely lacking without him.
Unfortunately for Alzate, he only lasted 20 minutes before a tangle with Jordan Ayew saw him roll an ankle. It looked a nasty one, not something Brighton need with Bissouma out, although it may have been a blessing on disguise on the day as Alzate had given possession away cheaply on a couple of occasions.
In one particularly messy exchange with Sanchez, that allowed rumoured Brighton summer transfer target Odsonne Edouard to feed through Zaha.
Luckily, Zaha was both miles offside and denied by Sanchez, the Spanish goalkeeper making amends for the poor pass which had contributed to putting Alzate in trouble in the first place.
Jakub Moder taking over from Alzate brought an improvement of sorts in Brighton and within five minutes of his introduction, he had flashed a couple of low crosses into the box which no Albion player could get on the end of.
The critical moment in Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton arrived shortly after the second of those. Marc Cucurella failed to control a pass and then failed to wipe out an advancing Palace player.
Palace screamed for a foul but Mr Mariner played an excellent advantage as Christian Benteke teed up a clear sight of goal for Ayew.
Somehow, the Eagles striker only succeeded in putting his effort wide of the post in front of a Holmesdale End who could scarcely believe it.
Had that gone in, Palace would have led 2-0 with 10 minutes remaining and there would have been no way back for Brighton.
If Ayew is reading this and he is low on petrol because of the current crisis, then please do get in contact with us here at WAB.
We would willingly siphon the remaining Unleaded from the WAB Mobile and give it you as a thank you for what can only be described as a catastrophic and costly miss.
How costly only became clear when the game ticked into injury time. Brighton became increasingly desperate for an equaliser and so Potterball went out the window, Potter instead channelling the spirit of Mark McGhee and throwing Duffy up top.
The big man responded by putting a header straight at Guaita. Duffy’s next contribution was then to challenge the Palace goalkeeper who made an absolutely meal out of it by pretending to be hurt.
Guaita probably thought he was being very clever in earning a questionable free kick through acting skills which are unlikely to put him in the running to be Daniel Craig’s replacement as Bond, but little did he know what was to happen next.
It was said free kick – which only needed to be put into touch really with seconds left – that Guaita played straight towards Veltman.
The rest will now enter into Albion folklore as one of those great moments in the Brighton v Palace rivalry, solidifying Maupay as a new pantomime villain in the eyes of Eagles fans.
That brawl at the end as the players left the pitch meanwhile – with Dunk offering out a Palace fan with a 1990s bowl cut and Sanchez taunting the home support – was one that Alan Mullery in the FA Cup first round second replay of 1976 would have been proud of.
Mullery’s “You’re not worth that” rant at Stamford Bridge that night was famously the moment that lit the fuse of the A23 Derby, the M23 Derby, El Gatwickico, whatever you want to call it.
And these games are so unique and heated 45 years on from Challis of the Palace that you could argue that it was Brighton’s toughest test of the season so far.
They might not have passed it with flying colours, but Palace themselves look a different beast this season under Patrick Vieira.
Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton – and especially the manner in which it was achieved – may yet be looked back upon as a fine point on the road if the title charge continues next week at home to Arsenal.
A victory over a Gunners side fresh from hammering their own arch rivals Spurs just five days after an unconvincing Albion performance at Selhurst Park? That would be Typical Brighton, too.
