Crystal Palace scored three second-half goals to beat 10-man Burnley in manager Oliver Glasner’s first game in charge of the club.
The Eagles dominated possession in the first half but could not find a breakthrough before Josh Brownhill was shown a straight red card.
James Trafford played a ball to Brownhill, who was under pressure from Jefferson Lerma, and he brought down the midfielder when he was through on goal.
The visitors made it to half-time with the score level and held on for over 20 minutes of the second period before Palace made the breakthrough.
Jordan Ayew put in an excellent curling cross and defender Chris Richards met it with a diving header into the bottom corner to give the home side the lead in the 68th minute.
That was before Matheus Franca, introduced as a second-half substitute, combined well with Tyrick Mitchell down the left, and his low cross was put away by Ayew from close range in the 71st minute.
Jean-Philippe Mateta then made sure of all three points when he confidently dispatched a penalty past Trafford after Franca was brought down by Vitinho.
Burnley striker David Datro Fofana had a late goal ruled out for offside as Palace secured a crucial victory.
The win moves Palace eight points clear of the relegation zone and makes Glasner just the second Palace manager to win their first Premier League game in charge.
Glasner makes instant impact
It’s the first time that Glasner has taken charge of a team midway through a season and in his pre-match press conference he said supporters would see changes step by step.
However, this win will give them a lot of hope for what is to come.
The Austrian only had three training sessions prior to the meeting with the Clarets but you could see the subtle tweaks he has made in that short time.
The Eagles tried a couple of well-worked short corners and changed the takers each side with Lerma going close on one occasion.
Palace had played with a three-man defence at Everton on Monday night and Glasner has favoured a similar formation at his other clubs.
Glasner said that Eberechi Eze should be back with the squad next week and he will hope he is the first of Palace’s key players to come back to fitness, with Marc Guehi and Michael Olise still in the treatment room.
The 49-year-old’s double change of Franca and Naouirou Ahamada paid off, with the former creating the last two Palace goals.
Some felt Franca, signed in summer for a potential £22m, should have been given more game time under previous boss Roy Hodgson and his cameo in this match serves as a positive start for him under the new manager.
Palace were somewhat lucky to keep a clean sheet when Datro Fofana’s late goal was ruled out for offside but Glasner will be delighted with what he saw from his side.
Burnley cause their own problems
After the defeat by Palace, the Clarets are now eight points from safety in the Premier League as they sit in 19th position.
Palace were struggling to create any clear-cut chances against Vincent Kompany’s side and arguably their best opportunities in the first half came through Burnley’s own mistakes.
Charlie Taylor’s volleyed backpass almost caught Trafford out before the Burnley goalkeeper’s pass to Brownhill put him under severe pressure and led to him being sent off.
It was an uphill battle for Burnley after going down to 10 men and they will have to produce something special to climb out of the relegation zone.
They have now conceded 58 goals and scored just 25 in what is proving to be a difficult season back in the top flight.
-BBC
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