(Football news) Sean Dyche’s team managed to hold managerless Crystal Palace to a 1-1 draw on Monday, and the Seagulls will be facing their Merseyside rivals after a 5-0 hammering of Sheffield United.
Roberto De Zerbi’s team suffered a heartbreaking late-night 2-1 loss in North London, despite the Seagulls manager taking the right tonic at Bramall Lane on February 18. The manager was absent from the match against Tottenham Hotspur owing to suspension and dental surgery.
Helped out by an early red card to Mason Holgate – who took the walk of shame for a sickening challenge on Kaoru Mitoma – Brighton put five past the Premier League’s basement boys without reply through Facundo Buonanotte, Danny Welbeck, Jack Robinson’s own goal and a second-half Simon Adingra brace.
The five-goal obliteration of Sheffield United came less than a month after Brighton had also notched a quintet of strikes against the Blades in the FA Cup, and by making lightning strike twice at Bramall Lane, the Seagulls leapfrogged Newcastle United into seventh place in the Premier League table.
One point clear of the Magpies in the Europa Conference League qualifying spot, De Zerbi’s troops also continued a highly peculiar pattern last weekend; since sinking Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 at the end of December, Brighton have scored at least four goals in every other game for the past nine matches.
Two of those prolific showings have come versus Spurs and Crystal Palace on their Amex patch, where their unbeaten run across all tournaments reads 11 games in all tournaments since September’s Europa League loss to AEK Athens, and not since August have De Zerbi’s men come out second best in a Premier League home game.
Although Everton’s run of victories at Goodison Park is not particularly noteworthy, the Toffees have not lost a Premier League game there since the start of the season. When Crystal Palace visited Walton, they shared the spoils for the third straight home game in the top division.
Due to Roy Hodgson’s medical emergency and resignation, Ray Lewington was left in charge of Palace’s touchline during their match against Sean Dyche’s Everton. Everton lost 1-0 thanks to a stunning goal from Jordan Ayew, but with six minutes left in regular time, Amadou Onana salvaged a point.
