It’s hard to imagine how this could have gone any worse for Roy Hodgson. As the Crystal Palace manager watched his side being dismantled by their bitter rivals with boos from the away end ringing in his ears, he cut a disconsolate figure on the touchline.
Having fallen behind to Lewis Dunk’s early header, the Premier League’s oldest manager was left fearing for his future again as Jack Hinshelwood and Facundo Buonanotte scored quick-fire goals to record Brighton’s biggest win in this fixture since a 5-0 victory in January 1956 in Division Three South. The disgruntled visiting supporters once more took aim at the chairman, Steve Parish, who watched on in horror as the new signing Adam Wharton gave the ball away for the third goal and then Michael Olise picked up another injury minutes after coming on, to join Eberechi Eze and the captain, Marc Guéhi, on the treatment table.
