Crystal Palace - Brentford 1-1
Despite both of last season’s meetings ending goalless, there was optimism that this fixture could buck that trend, with each of these sides showing plenty of endeavour in the early stages of the campaign. Patrick Vieira welcomed Zaha back into his team after missing the defeat to Manchester City, and his presence was a constant reminder of the threat the Eagles possess. The Ivorian had the best two chances of an attritional first half, but both efforts were denied by last-ditch blocks from Aaron Hickey.
The Selhurst Park faithful tried to cheer on their team to find an opener as the game resumed. Jeffrey Schlupp spurned a huge chance to break the deadlock, having picked Mathias Jensen’s pocket on the edge of the area, his tame shot was comfortably saved by David Raya. The Eagles’ intensity was growing, and Michael Olise came inches away from the opener when he cut in from the left to shoot but was denied by the post.
Brentford’s defence was becoming more vulnerable to an improving Palace outfit. On the hour mark, Zaha found a way through with a piece of magic, cutting in from the left and finding a yard to shoot, curling expertly into the top corner beyond a helpless Raya. The talismanic winger has now scored six of his side’s last seven goals on home soil.
Despite their dominance, Palace dropped deeper as they looked to protect the lead. Brentford’s undeniable resilience was on display and Frank introduced Wissa, Mikkel Damsgaard, Josh Dasilva and Saman Ghoddos in an effort to turn the tide. His changes worked, as Vitaly Janelt’s floated cross found Wissa in glorious isolation, nodding home from close range.
Brentford thought they’d won it deep into stoppage time, as Ben Mee’s downward header bounced off the turf before hitting the bar, but Palace managed to cling on for a point. Despite an encouraging set of performances, another setback for the Eagles leaves them in the bottom half of the Premier League with just one win from their opening five games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Cheick Doucouré (Crystal Palace)
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Fulham - Brighton 2-1
It was a dull opening half of play from two teams who tend to play slick football on the front foot. But the two forward-thinking systems appeared to cancel one another out, and the battle for supremacy in the match was muddled in midfield. As a result, set-pieces and counter-attacks appeared to be the avenue for goals for both sides. Late in the half, Leandro Trossard whipped a teasing ball into the Fulham box, but fellow Seagull Solly March flashed his diving header wide, seeing one of the few looks at goal that either side had in the opening interval fall by the wayside.
The Cottagers emerged in the second half with far more attacking impetus, and it did not take long for their efforts to be rewarded. After winning the ball back deep into the Brighton half, a mishit fizzing shot across the face of goal from Neeskens Kebano found its way to Fulham talisman Aleksandar Mitrović, who stabbed home the opening goal - his fifth of the season. It quickly went from bad to worse for the Seagulls when Fulham broke away on a pacey counterattack, and an attempted cross from Andreas Pereira took a big deflection off Lewis Dunk, and the defender’s touch sent the ball careening into the back of his own net.
However, the South Coast club were given a route back into the game only minutes later when newcomer Pervis Estupiñán was taken down in the box, seeing Brighton awarded a penalty kick. The subsequent spot-kick was slammed home with aplomb by xxx, cutting the Fulham lead in half with 30 minutes still to play. But the comeback was not to be as Fulham’s rearguard remained stubborn in the final half-hour, and ensured the Cottagers picked up their second win in three games.
A loss away to a newly-promoted side will frustrate Brighton boss Graham Potter, but having only returned to the Premier League in 2017, sitting in the top four after five games played will delight the travelling faithful.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Neeskens Kebano (Fulham)