Report and reaction as Albion lose 2-1 to Crystal Palace

Striker becomes our all-time leading Premier League scorer but nine-man Palace prevail 2-1 at Selhurst Park and Jan Paul van Hecke is sent off.

Bruce Talbot

2025-04-05T16:50+01:00

Danny Welbeck equalises - and become's Albion's record Premier League goalsorer. 📷 James Boardman.

Danny Welbeck became our record Premier League goalscorer but Palace completed their first double over Albion since 1933 despite finishing with nine players.

Welbeck’s 31st top-flight goal – which took him ahead of Pascal Gross - came appropriately enough in the 31st minute and drew Albion level after Jean-Phillipe Mateta gave Palace an early lead.

Albion looked capable of going on to win the game at that stage but instead they conceded again ten minutes into the second half to Daniel Munoz’s deflected shot before a remarkable finale saw three players sent off.

A hug from the skipper for Danny Welbeck. 📷 James Boardman.

With 13 minutes to go Eddie Nketieh went for a second bookable offence and in the final minute Palace skipper Marc Guehi followed him down the tunnel, also for a second yellow card.

Albion had 12 minutes of stoppage time to find an equaliser and Yasin Ayari so nearly got it but his volley was kept out by the legs of Dean Henderson. To compound a disappointing afternoon Jan Paul van Hecke’s stoppage-time foul on Daichi Kamada earned him a second yellow and a ban against Leicester City at the Amex next week.

Albion made the worst possible start, conceding after just four minutes when Mateta took Eberechi Eze’s pass in his stride and fired an angled strike across Bart Verbruggen into the roof of the net. Albion’s keeper made sure it wasn’t two in the ninth minute when he touched Eze’s shot away for a corner as Palace made a lively start.

Pervis Estupinan challenges in the air with two Palace players. 📷 James Boardman.

Albion gradually got their bearings though and Henderson produced a fine double save in the 14th minute. His left hand kept out Carlos Baleba’s 20-yard piledriver before he blocked the rebound from Welbeck with his legs.

But there was no denying Welbeck 17 minutes later. Matt O’Riley fed Yankuba Minteh on the right and Welbeck delayed his run before bursting past Munoz to steer a left-foot shot into the bottom corner from Minteh’s fine cross. After a shaky start it was a deserved equaliser. His ninth of the season was also his third in his last seven games.

Albion were in control at that stage but Palace were giving little away at the back and when Munoz galloped forward in the 55th minute he made a telling impact. Eze cut in from the left and threaded a pass to Munoz, whose low drive from just inside the box found the far corner with the aid of a hefty deflection off Pervis Estupinan. Without it, Verbruggen would have made the save.

Danny Welbeck is denied by a fine save from Dean Henderson. 📷 James Boardman.

Palace were reduced to ten men with 13 minutes to go when Nketieh, who had only been on the pitch nine minutes, was sent off for a late challenge on van Hecke, having already been booked for diving. Palace captain Guehi followed him in the 90th minute for bringing down Brajan Gruda – his second yellow of the second half too.

It became nine v ten when van Hecke also saw red before Ayari, one of six Albion subs because Palace had used a replacement following a concussion injury, was denied by Henderson’s fine save. It’s now 12 games in London without a win. Capital punishment indeed.

Kaoru Mitoma shields the ball from Ismaila Sarr. 📷 James Boardman.

Albion's line-up

Verbruggen, Hinshelwood (Wieffer 90), van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan (Ayari 81), Minteh (March 71), Baleba, Gomez (Gruda 71), Mitoma (Adingra 63), O’Reilly (Joao Pedro 63), Welbeck.

Subs not used: Rushworth, Cashin, Tasker.

Referee: A. Taylor

Fabian Hurzeler's thoughts...

"I think we played a good first half then we conceded the second goal too easily. Afterwards it was a very wild game. It was difficult to get a rhythm in the second half or control it like we did in the first half. To break a low block you need to be calm in your decision making and do your job right. We made easy mistakes to lose the ball, forced it too much and couldn’t get into a rhythm.

"It was important for the players to keep calm and find the right solutions. We have to analyse why that was, be honest with each other and then make it better.

"They went down to nine men and then we made a silly mistake to concede a red card ourselves. It’s difficult to win Premier League games when you’re not on the highest level, we had the same situation against Aston Villa on Wednesday.

"We have had too many individual mistakes this week, and if you do that you can’t win many Premier League games. We have a lot of young players and in some moments we perhaps weren’t mature enough. But we will analyse it and I'm sure we will show a good reaction."