Brighton grab deserved late point at Palace

Updated: May 17, 2023, 12:13 am

Substitute Alexis Mac Allister scored his first Premier League goal to secure Brighton a deserved point in a 1-1 draw away at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

It looked like being a frustrating afternoon for Brighton who dominated the game but could find no reply to Wilfried Zaha's 19th-minute penalty until 21-year-old Mac Allister thumped one home in the 90th minute.

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There was still time for Brighton's Lewis Dunk to get sent off in stoppage time, however, after his wild tackle on Palace defender Gary Cahill in a goalmouth scramble.

Brighton would have gone home scratching their heads had they not levelled after peppering Palace's goal with 20 attempts compared to the one of the hosts.

They have four points from their opening five games while Palace have seven and are in 12th spot.

"I am pleased with the performance and the team," Brighton manager Graham Potter said. "If we play that game 10 times we win it quite a few times."

Alexis Mac Allister secured an important point for Brighton against rivals Crystal Palace.
Photo by Peter Cziborra - Pool/Getty Images

Brighton had been the better side early on but fell behind in tame fashion when Tariq Lamptey was judged to have fouled Michy Batshuayi in the area as a cross was played in.

There was not a great deal of contact but the VAR check agreed with referee Stuart Attwell, and Zaha made no mistake from the spot, firing past Mat Ryan for his fourth goal of the season.

"It looked a little soft. In defence of the referee, as soon as an arm goes up you give them an excuse to give the penalty," Potter said.

Palace showed little ambition after that as they protected their advantage.

Neal Maupay spurned two good chances for Brighton either side of halftime, the first when Solly March played in a low cross and Maupay's shot on the turn lacked the power to beat Vicente Guaita.

He also had a clear sight at goal after halftime but delayed his shot and was closed down.

Brighton kept probing, though, and when Palace defender Joel Ward made a mess of dealing with a long punt in the last minute of normal time, Maupay shifted the ball across to Mac Allister, whose fierce shot clipped a Palace defender on its way into the bottom corner of the net.