Brighton thrash Crystal Palace 5-0 and put Pierre Sage under pressure

Crystal Palace suffered a heavy defeat against their hosts Brighton, losing 5-0 on Sunday in the Premier League, in another loss that increases the pressure on their French manager Pierre Sage, just three days after the team fell to Olympique Lyon 3-2 in the UEFA Europa League.

Crystal Palace suffered a disastrous start to the match, conceding three goals within the first ten minutes, a rare attacking achievement in Premier League history, as only nine other teams have scored three goals in such an early timeframe, according to Opta statistics.

The goal festival began with an own goal by Jay De Canfo in the 4th minute, before Diego Gómez doubled the score with a stunning lob from 51 meters just three minutes later, one of the standout goals of the season. Yassine Al Ayari then added the third goal just seconds later.

Brighton, who sit second in the Premier League, waited until the 49th minute to see Charalampos Kostoulas score the fourth goal, before Jack Hinshelwood capped off the five-goal tally in the 84th minute, taking advantage of a corner kick. In contrast, Crystal Palace struggled offensively, managing only five shots, with just one on target.

Crystal Palace have suffered their fourth defeat in seven rounds of the Premier League, dropping to 14th place, with the possibility of falling to 16th by the end of the round. These results put Pierre Sage's future under scrutiny, especially as he was fourth in the list of managers most at risk of being sacked at the start of the week, according to the French report.