Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner was happy to be able to deliver a “Christmas gift” to fans on Sunday.
The Eagles conquered Brighton in the M23 derby, beating them 3-1 at the Amex Stadium.
It marked another impressive performance under the Austrian head coach, despite their rocky start to the campaign.
Palace have now only lost one of their last night games in all competitions and sit 15th in the Premier League table.
And Glasner gave credit to his players for their performance on the South Coast.
He said: “We always were dangerous, we took our chances today and it is great win for us and our fans.
Eagle Black 🤝 W
Grab yours now ⤵️
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) December 16, 2024
“They [Brighton] wanted to win and they showed it from the first second. It took us a little bit but we had more situations in their half and it gave the players more confidence.
“The problem early in the second half was we didn’t get pressure on the ball. They have a lot of quality and their subs did fantastic.
“We look up, in front of us, and it was a massive chance for us to reduce the gap to the teams in front of us. But we don’t talk about the table, we talk about our performance. The positive thing is we can play better.
“It’s a very important game for us, it’s a very important game for our fans and I told the players it was the best Christmas gift we could give them because they are always behind us.”
Palace will be hoping to give fans even more reason to celebrate on Wednesday when they take on Arsenal in the Carabao Cup.
A win would take them into the semi-finals and hand them a genuine shot at a trip to Wembley next year.
