Oliver Glasner’s first match in charge of Crystal Palace ended in a buoyant 3-0 victory over 10-man Burnley at Selhurst Park.
The relegation-threatened hosts had a strong start and dominated the first half, but despite Josh Brownhill’s sending-off in the 38th minute, the game ended goalless after the break.
With his first Premier League goal, a header in the 68th minute, Chris Richards broke the scoreless draw. Four minutes later, Jordan Ayew increased the Eagles’ lead, and Jean-Philippe Mateta’s penalty kick secured the victory.
After Palace moved eight points clear of the relegation zone in the afternoon’s sad conclusion, Burnley’s late consolation was ruled out.
Warm applause greeted Glasner as he was introduced to the stadium. He had selected the same starting lineup from the Eagles’ 1-1 draw with Everton and had stuck with the 3-4-2-1 system.
The Austrian had expressed his desire to score goals for the Eagles, who, with 28 points from 26 games, had at kickoff only scored more than the 17th-place Toffees, the Eagles’ opponents on Saturday, and the team at the bottom.
Within two minutes, Charlie Taylor’s throw back to his custodian completely eluded James Trafford and sailed out for a Palace corner, setting up what could have been a costly blunder for the visitors.
The hosts got off to a strong start, generating few clear-cut opportunities but always being on the front foot. The visitors didn’t see much of the ball until a brief period of time around the 20-minute mark, so Glasner will have been heartened.
From that point on, it was all Palace. Odsonne Edouard had the first opportunity, which was deflected off Lorenz Assignon. Then, in the ensuing corner, Trafford did a great job of blocking Joachim Andersen’s close-range attempt through a sea of bodies. Later, Edouard went to ground to stop Adam Wharton’s cross past the post with an outstretched save.
After Trafford’s careless ball allowed Jefferson Lerma to break free, Burnley was reduced to 10 men. Brownhill, under pressure, replied by bringing the Palace midfielder down by the back of his shirt, earning referee Lewis Smith’s instant red card.
Josh Cullen replaced Zeki Amdouni right away by Kompany, and Edouard’s free kick skimmed the top of the crossbar. Palace would have been disappointed that the match ended in a draw at halftime, despite the fact that they were still in control for the most part.
The second half began much the same way, with the home team appearing more likely to break the deadlock but missing the mark with their efforts, and David Datro Fofana scoffing at a rare Burnley opportunity.
Two minutes after Glasner made his initial substitutions, Richards gave his team a well-earned lead by nodding Ayew’s cross into the bottom corner. Wharton was replaced by Nououirou Ahamada, and Matheus Franca was substituted for Edouard.
After a short delay, Franca picked up his first assist for Palace when he slipped a beautiful ball for Ayew to turn in at the far post in the 72nd minute. The goal stood after a VAR review.
After Vitinho of Burnley got into trouble almost immediately after coming on in the 75th minute by bringing down Franca within the 18-yard box, VAR was consulted a second time.
After the inspection, Mateta’s penalty was upheld, and in the 79th minute, he duly converted to send Trafford the wrong way.
Palace had given up more goals in the last fifteen minutes than any other team in the division, and when Fofana nodded past Sam Johnstone in the 88th minute, it almost seemed as though they had contributed to the bad record.
Smith was called to the monitor, and even after more than 13 minutes of added time were played, the hosts’ clean sheet was maintained due to an offside in the build-up.
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