LONDON (Reuters) – Crystal Palace edged past last-placed Southampton 2-1 at Selhurst Park on Sunday, securing their second home win in the Premier League this season thanks to goals from Eberechi Eze and Trevor Chalobah.
The victory lifted Palace one place in the standings to 15th, six points clear of the relegation zone, while Southampton remain winless under new manager Ivan Juric and on course for the lowest points finish in Premier League history.
“We put in a good performance and showed the energy we needed. Getting the three points is all that matters,” the 26-year-old Eze told Sky Sports. “We are always confident and believe we can create chances.”
Southampton had the more energetic start and took the lead in the 14th minute after Kyle Walker-Peters skipped past Daniel Munoz and his cross found Adam Armstrong, who set up Tyler Dibling for a simple tap-in.
Palace pressed hard for an equaliser and made it 1-1 in the 31st minute when Chalobah headed in from a corner. Southampton appealed for a foul, claiming Jean-Philippe Mateta had impeded goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, but VAR upheld the goal.
“I was confident it was going to be a goal, I wasn’t worried about that (VAR). Its a massive win. We wanted to finish off the year with a win,” Chalobah said.
However, Saints coach Juric said it should have been a foul: “I think the first goal for me was foul and it’s very difficult to defend this kind of situation.
“I don’t understand why the referee doesn’t give him the foul (when) they are pushing your goalkeeper.
“I think we started very well by scoring… In the second half, we dominated (only) a little bit and (now) we’ve lost two games to set pieces.”
Palace finally took the lead in the 52nd minute when Munoz’s cross was cleared by Southampton’s defence, and the ball fell to Eze just outside the 18-yard box where the Englishman unleashed a powerful shot into the bottom corner, leaving Ramsdale with no chance.
“When it sets up like that you just want to take a shot. I’m grateful,” Eze, who hadn’t scored since September, said of his second league goal of the season.
Palace grew in confidence as the game progressed and towards the end of the second half, Eze nearly grabbed a second goal from a free-kick which cleared the Saints’ wall but was saved by Ramsdale.
At the other end, Palace’s defence dealt with Southampton’s set-pieces, leaving goalkeeper Dean Henderson with little to do, while Ramsdale saved another after Ismaila Sarr’s cross deflected dangerously off Saints defender Jan Bednarek towards goal.
Southampton have fewer points at this stage of the season than Derby County did in 2007-08, when they were relegated with the lowest tally in Premier League history.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge and Hugh Lawson)
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