Oliver Glasner said their victory over rivals Brighton was “the best Christmas present” Crystal Palace could give their supporters.
The Eagles moved four points clear of the Premier League relegation zone after a 3-1 win at the American Express Stadium.
Ismaila Sarr scored twice, while Trevoh Chalobah was also on target for the visitors, who extended their unbeaten streak to five games, while goalkeeper Dean Henderson made a series of impressive saves to largely keep the hosts at bay.
Palace defeated Brighton for the first time since February 2021, ending a run of six winless Premier League games against them (D4 L2). Each of the Eagles' last three top-flight wins against them have now come away from home.
It was a timely upturn in fortunes for Palace after a difficult start to the season, and Glasner is pleased to reward the supporters for remaining loyal to his team.
“All credit goes to the players,” he told BBC Sport. “We defended compactly, we didn't give them many situations.
“They changed their system and we struggled to put pressure on the ball. At this stage we needed Dean to make two or three big saves. It was a very positive performance.”
“We knew that if we were patient we would get better performances. Some players were not fit, new signings, but we didn't want to talk about this and seemed to make excuses. We are getting more and more confident in how we want to play.
“It was always clear to us that we would achieve better results. But it's not time to relax, it's time to keep going.
“It is a very important match for our fans and I told the players that this was the best Christmas present we could give them because they always support us.”
“It's absolutely massive,” Henderson added on Sky Sports. “The fans have been patient with us this season. We are in the wrong position, we have great players and today it all clicked.
“We knew they were going to come out [in the second half] and it would be difficult. Luckily I helped the team today. When you are in that moment you feel good, you feel unbeatable.”
Meanwhile, Brighton are now without a win in four games, their longest run without wins since Fabian Hurzeler took charge.
Brighton created chances worth an expected goals total (xG) of just 0.81 in this match, the lowest in a Premier League match so far this season, and the Seagulls head coach lamented the profligacy of his players after their first home defeat in the Premier League. campaign.
“The goals we conceded are too easy. You can't stop these easy goals,” he said.
“I think we showed a good response in the second half, we had some big chances, but after that the game becomes more and more difficult because they become more and more compact.
“In the end we had the chances. I think the goalkeeper saved two or three big chances, but in the final third we weren't clinical enough. We lacked the killer instinct to get to the goal.”
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