If Michael Oliver isn’t on Oliver Glasner’s Christmas card list then the Crystal Palace manager may want to get one in the post before it’s too late. With the visitors struggling to get out of their half against Brighton’s onslaught, the referee was responsible for the game’s pivotal moment midway through the first half.
Fabian Hürzeler was left incensed by Oliver’s decision to allow play to continue after Carlos Baleba had been impeded by the official during a Palace break, with Trevoh Chalobah compounding his misery by slamming home from the corner that eventually resulted. Yet the Brighton manager was rightly disappointed by the way his side allowed their emotions to get the better of them as Ismaïla Sarr scored twice to seal a memorable victory for Palace over their arch-enemies that ended their unbeaten record at home this season.
