Report: Palace suffer seesaw Selhurst defeat to Burnley

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Jørgen Strand Larsen scored twice on his home debut for Crystal Palace, but the Eagles were undone by a quickfire first-half comeback from Burnley, losing out 2-3 at Selhurst Park.

Summary:

Glasner’s 100th game as Palace Manager – the same fixture as his first – sees the Manager make two changes from weekend win over Brighton.
Guessand comes in for full Palace debutant, also making home debut alongside Strand Larsen; Kamada returns to starting XI.
10: Palace make the early running, threatening through Sarr.
17 – GOAL: Strand Larsen marks home debut with a powerful finish, his first goal for the club.
23: Flemming strikes over from a promising position for Burnley.
33 – GOAL: Strand Larsen doubles tally with brilliant diving header from Lerma’s delivery.
39 – Goal: Mejbri places a smart finish inside the near post to get Burnley back in it.
43: Strand Larsen denied first-half hat-trick by a last-ditch challenge from Esteve.
44 – Goal: Anthony draws Burnley level with an emphatic low finish.
45+2 – Goal: Humphreys completes visitors turnaround with near-post header, squirming in off Lerma.
HT: Palace 2-3 Burnley
50: Muñoz, Wharton and Lacroix all threaten as Palace dominate opening exchanges of the second-half.
62: Sarr’s well-struck half-volley sails narrowly wide of the top corner.
69: Kamada stoops to meet Muñoz’s cross, but can’t quite direct it on target.
77: Johnson bends a firm curling shot just beyond the upright.
83: Uche also comes on for Palace as the hosts finish with five attackers on the pitch.
90: Hughes’ low effort deflects narrowly wide, before Burnley clear their lines from a subsequent goalmouth scramble.
90+5: Sarr denied by Dúbravka at the death as visitors cling on for unlikely victory.
FT: Palace 2-3 Burnley

On the occasion of his 100th match in charge of Palace, in a fixture which mirrored his first two years ago, Oliver Glasner handed starts to winter signings Jørgen Strand Larsen and Evann Guessand – their Selhurst Park bows as Eagles – as Daichi Kamada returned to the starting XI after a two-month lay-off.

With renewed confidence following the weekend’s win at Brighton – and recent form against Burnley in their favour – there was no doubt inside the opening exchanges which team posed the greater attacking threat.

Ismaïla Sarr, the weekend’s winning goalscorer, featured prominently in an energetic high press, and only an unfortunate bounce of the ball prevented him from baring down on goal one-on-one at the 10-minute mark.

But after another new Eagle, Guessand, marked his debut with an assist at the weekend, it was fellow winter arrival Strand Larsen who made the breakthrough in front of his new supporters after 17 minutes with his first goal for the club.

Palace’s runners in behind had already threatened on several occasions in the opening exchanges – and this time, when Tyrick Mitchell won the ball on the halfway line and Kamada and Adam Wharton linked up quickly, the latter’s ball over the top found Strand Larsen striding into the box.

The Norwegian deftly brought the ball under his control and, looking up, blasted a clean half-volley past the advancing Martin Dúbravka, before wheeling away in front of a delirious Holmesdale – the perfect introduction to his new adoring supporters.

To Burnley ‘s credit, that did prompt a response – and five minutes later, Zian Flemming ought to have done better when picked out inside the box by Jaidon Anthony, only for the Burnley forward to place a poor effort way beyond the bar.

On too many occasions so far this season, Palace could perhaps be accused of being profligate with their chances – but Strand Larsen seemed determined to set that right at Selhurst, and duly scored an instinctive second in brilliant fashion on 33 minutes.

With Jefferson Lerma picking up the ball in a deep position, angled perfectly for a cross, the centre-forward ahead of him was already sprinting across his marker.

Lerma’s delivery was pinpoint, and was matched by a wonderfully angled diving header from Strand Larsen, picking out the far bottom corner to leave Dúbravka sprawling – and Selhurst delirious.

Again to the visitors’ credit, they kept playing their football, and pulled a goal back not long after. A sharp passing move down the right culminated in Marcus Edwards pulling the ball back towards the edge of the box – and Hannibal Mejbri finding the top corner with an emphatic finish.

Despite matches between Palace and Burnley being low-scoring in recent years, this one was proving end-to-end. Minutes later, Strand Larsen was only denied a first-half hat-trick from Mitchell’s pull-back

A fixture with a track record of recent Palace domination was proving end-to-end, and only a last-ditch sliding tackle from Burnley’s Maxime Estève prevented Strand Larsen from putting the seal on a first-half treble not long after.

But, somewhat amazingly, it was Burnley who went in at the break ahead, after two quickfire goals in the final minutes of the half.

The first stemmed from a possible handball by Lesley Ugochukwu in midfield – deemed, by VAR, accidental – which led to the playmaker finding Jaidon Anthony. The Burnley No. 11 cut inside Lerma and, with Henderson unsighted, planted a firm finish into the near bottom corner.

And in the second minute of injury time, the visitors – somehow – took the lead, a near-post header from Bashir Humphreys initially saved by Dean Henderson, only for the ball to take an unfortunate ricochet off the covering Lerma, agonisingly squirming over the line.

An incredulous noise reverberated around Selhurst as the half-time whistle sounded – Palace seemingly in full control, but somehow behind at the break.

To their credit, it was control they reasserted from the onset of the second-half – Daniel Muñoz finding the side-netting within seconds of the restart after picking up an advanced position, before Maxence Lacroix twice went close with headers from corner kicks.

Fellow winter arrival Brennan Johnson was brought on with 58 minutes on the clock, but it was joint-top goalscorer Sarr who was next to go close, firing a fierce half-volley narrowly wide of the upright after Strand Larsen had headed it back into his vicinity.

For long stretches of the ensuing period, the diagonal pass to the overlapping Muñoz was frequently on – and it brought with it plenty of openings. Shortly before 70 minutes, the Colombian’s first-time volleyed cross was met by Kamada – stooping at the back post – but the midfielder’s header rippled the side-netting.

Will Hughes and Yéremy Pino were next to emerge from the Palace bench as Glasner threw additional attackers on for the closing stages.

It was Johnson who was next to go close with a quarter-of-an-hour remaining, turning sharply and bending a crisp effort goalwards from 25 yards – but also over the bar.

As the visitors put all 11 men behind the ball, Christantus Uche was next to come on for Palace as Glasner continued to add attacking players to the field.

With the game ticking into five minutes of added time, Hughes’ firm low strike deflected narrowly wide, and the subsequent corner kick triggered a goalmouth scramble, but the ball simply would not fall to a red and blue shirt.

In the final seconds, another ball into the box was chested down by Sarr, who struck a fierce effort goalwards, only for Dúbravka to spring up high and push it away.

Try as they might, the Eagles simply could not find the equaliser their general dominance deserved – a madcap spell at the end of the first-half proving costly in extending Palace’s lengthy winless run at Selhurst Park.

Palace: Henderson (GK), Richards, Lacroix, Lerma (Riad, HT), Muñoz (Pino, 72), Wharton (Uche, 83), Kamada (Hughes, 72), Mitchell, Sarr, Strand Larsen, Guessand (Johnson, 58).

Subs: Benítez (GK), Clyne, Sosa, Devenny.

Burnley: Dubravka (GK), Walker, Humphreys, Esteve, Worrall, Edwards (Foster, 73), Mejbri (Ward-Prowse, 83), Laurent, Ugochukwu (Florentino, 87), Anthony, Flemming (Bruun Larsen, 73).

Subs: Weiss (GK), Tchaouna, Ekdal, Pires, Barnes.

As It Happened

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