Brighton produced a remarkable start to overwhelm Crystal Palace 5-0, scoring three times inside the opening 10 minutes before adding two more goals after half-time.
Jaydee Canvot turned the ball into his own net with a headed finish in the fourth minute to give Brighton the lead. Three minutes later, Diego Gomez doubled the advantage with a stunning strike from the halfway line.
Olivier Boscagli won possession from Adam Wharton, allowing 23-year-old Paraguay midfielder Gomez to notice Crystal Palace goalkeeper Walter Benitez away from his goal. Gomez immediately attempted a long-range effort, and although Benitez raced back and dived, the ball dropped under the crossbar.
Opta recorded the distance as 51 metres, making it the longest-range Premier League goal since Wayne Rooney scored from 58m for Everton against West Ham in a 4-0 win in November 2017.
Brighton completed their rapid opening assault in the 10th minute. Charalampos Kostoulas used a backheel to send Yasin Ayari through, and Ayari finished beyond Benitez for 3-0.
Kostoulas added Brighton’s fourth four minutes into the second half. Ayari’s shot deflected into the striker’s path, and Kostoulas reacted first to fire into the net.
Palace threatened to reduce the deficit after Jean-Philippe Mateta came on for his return from nearly two months out with a hamstring injury. The substitute struck the crossbar, while Jefferson Lerma also went close with a header against the post.
Brighton nevertheless completed the scoring in the 84th minute. Benitez parried Luka Vuskovic’s header, but Jack Hinshelwood was in position to convert the rebound from close range.
The result gave Brighton their biggest victory over Palace since 1956. It was also their eighth clean sheet in all competitions during 2026-27 and their fifth Premier League win of the campaign.
Brighton moved into second place, although they will fall back one position if Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest in the later game on Sunday.
The match record listed a Brighton highlight at 47 minutes, Kostoulas’ goal at 49 minutes, another match event at 57 minutes and a further highlight at 63 minutes.
Brighton’s starting XI was Gross, Dunk, Olivier Boscagli, Ferdi Kadıoglu, Maxim De Cuyper, Bart Verbruggen, Yasin Ayari, Diego Gomez, Chema Andres, Luka Vuskovic and Charalampos Kostoulas. Their substitutes were Steele, Michael Svoboda, Matt O’Riley, Costinha, Georginio Rutter, Jaouen Hadjam, Jack Hinshelwood, Ibrahim Osman and Malick Yalcouye.
Crystal Palace started with Walter Benitez, Kamada, Jørgen Strand Larsen, Chris Richards, Quinten Timber, Yeremy, Tyrick Mitchell, Adam Wharton, Anan Khalaili, Jaydee Canvot and Honest Ahanor. Their substitutes were Hughes, Lerma, Remi Matthews, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Sarr, Nketiah, McNeil, Oscar Mingueza and Dario Osorio.
