Crystal Palace1 - 2Brentford

The first half was a dull affair, with neither side producing much in the final third, but Maxence Lacroix tripped Nathan Collins around an hour into the game, though Bryan Mbeumo stuck the post from the resulting penalty.

However, the Brentford forward got the chance to atone for his miss after VAR penalised Marc Guehi for encroachment, and he buried his second attempt before Kevin Schade doubled the visitors' lead with 10 minutes to go.

Debutant Romain Esse managed to halve the deficit minutes later with his first ever touch of the ball as a Premier League player, but the hosts could not find a way back into the game.

The result means that Brentford are 11th with 31 points and move four points above Palace, who are 10th but could fall to 14th place should West Ham United and Manchester United both win later on Sunday.

SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT

Thomas Frank's Brentford have been enjoyable to watch this campaign given they have scored 42 times in the top flight this term - the sixth most in the league - but they have been poor away from home.

The Bees have now won two consecutive away fixtures in the Premier League, but they will need to show much more consistency if they have any ambition of challenging for a top-half spot.

As for Palace, they are 11 points clear of 18th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers and should be confident of staying in the division, and their defeat on Sunday should not cloud the good work that Oliver Glasner has done while in charge.

The debut of Esse should be seen as a positive, and the future with the youngster in attack alongside the likes of Eze looks bright.

CRYSTAL PALACE VS. BRENTFORD HIGHLIGHTS

57th min: Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace) hits post

Eberechi Eze takes a free-kick from the left and his strike bounces off Sepp Van den Berg towards the right corner, and Mark Flekken can only watch as the ball hits the base of the post.

The closest to a goal yet!

63rd min: Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) missed penalty

Collins is fouled by Lacroix and the referee points to the spot, but Mbeumo's stuttered run up sees him strike the left and hit the post, before Crystal Palace get the ball clear.

A let off for Palace!

Bryan Mbeumo goal vs. Crystal Palace (66th min, Crystal Palace 0-1 Brentford)

Guehi is adjudged by VAR to have encroached the penalty area during Mbeumo's penalty, and the Brentford forward has the chance to retake his spot kick, with the Bees attacker burying his second attempt in the right side of the net.

Mbeumo redeems himself!

Kevin Schade goal vs. Crystal Palace (80th min, Crystal Palace 0-2 Brentford)

Mikkel Damsgaard finds space on the right flank in Crystal Palace's half, and he managed to find Schade, who heads home from near the penalty spot but clashes heads with Chris Richards and needs treatment.

A fantastic header to make it 2-0!

Romain Esse goal vs. Brentford (85th min, Crystal Palace 1-2 Brentford)

Eze drifts infield from the left facing Brentford's goal and chips a ball to the back post to Daniel Munoz, who squares across goal and defender Collins bizarrely leaves the ball for debutant Esse to tap home.

Palace are back in this!

MAN OF THE MATCH - NATHAN COLLINS

Despite making a mistake for Crystal Palace's goal late on, Collins still should be credited for helping win the penalty that led to Brentford's opening goal.

The centre-back completed 37 of his 42 passes - the most of any player on either team - and also won six of his eight duels, dominating most attacks that came his way.

CRYSTAL PALACE VS. BRENTFORD MATCH STATS

Possession: Crystal Palace 47%-53% Brentford

Shots: Crystal Palace 16-13 Brentford

Shots on target: Crystal Palace 5-6 Brentford

Corners: Crystal Palace 4-7 Brentford

Fouls: Crystal Palace 8-11 Brentford

BEST STATS

WHAT NEXT?

Crystal Palace are set to travel to Old Trafford to play Manchester United on February 2 in the Premier League, before facing Doncaster Rovers in the FA Cup on February 10.

Meanwhile, Brentford will host Tottenham Hotspur next Sunday in the league, and then take on West Ham United on February 15.

Written by

Lewis Nolan