Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace. Burnley became the first team in English top-flight history to lose their first six home games of a season as they were beaten by Crystal Palace at Turf Moor.
Jeffrey Schlupp slid home Jordan Ayew’s ball across the face of the Burnley goal to punish Jordan Beyer’s error and put Palace ahead.
They sealed the points on the break in stoppage time as substitute Eberechi Eze teed up Tyrick Mitchell to steer beyond James Trafford and keep the Clarets rooted in the Premier League’s bottom three, in 19th place.
Those were Palace’s only real clear-cut chances of the match as Vincent Kompany’s hosts were once again punished for switching off, despite having far more of the ball and creating several good opportunities.
Zeki Amdouni sent a free header wide after only two minutes, while Johann Berg Gudmundsson spurned their best opening by dragging wastefully wide from the lively Luca Koleosho’s pull-back after the break.
Palace keeper Sam Johnstone made an excellent fingertip second-half save to thwart Josh Brownhill’s 20-yard curler and also reacted smartly to foil Jay Rodriguez and substitute Wilson Odobert.
The loss set a new unwanted club record of eight successive top-flight home defeats for Burnley, who also lost their final two games at Turf Moor when they were relegated from the Premier League in 2021-22.
Roy Hodgson’s Palace, meanwhile, climb into the top half of the table, up to 10th, bouncing back after defeats by Newcastle and Tottenham.
This was a battle of the Premier League’s youngest and oldest managers – indeed, 76-year-old Hodgson began his coaching career a decade before Kompany, 37, was born.
And it was the experienced boss who prevailed to leave his younger counterpart wondering when and how Burnley’s first point at home will materialise.
There had been some mitigating circumstances regarding Burnley’s previous home results considering they had faced four of last season’s top eight – the two Manchester clubs, Tottenham and Aston Villa.
But if this game was supposed to herald a run of more winnable games, then the Eagles failed to read the script.
They were aided by the sort of defensive lapse that is becoming common for the Clarets as Beyer was robbed, outmuscled and turned inside out by Ayew to leave Schlupp with the simplest of finishes.
Burnley had plenty of time to fashion a response but, with top scorer Lyle Foster still sidelined by illness, they lacked a true cutting edge.
And when they did find a way through the Palace rearguard, in-form England stopper Johnstone was on hand to ensure a fifth clean sheet of the season for the visitors – only Arsenal, with six, have kept more.
Rodriguez, making his first start of the season, did find the net but was well offside as Burnley were kept off the bottom of the table on goal difference alone after Sheffield United’s late win over Wolves.
Meanwhile, Eze’s return from five weeks out with a hamstring injury was another boost for Palace, who face four more bottom-half sides in their next four fixtures.
Source – BBC
