Brighton beat Crystal Palace 5-0 at the Amex Stadium in the M23 derby on Sunday 18 October 2026. The hosts were 3-0 ahead inside the opening 10 minutes and added two more goals after the interval in the Premier League fixture. The win moved Brighton provisionally into second place in the table, ahead of Arsenal.
The scoring began in the fourth minute, when Palace defender Jaydee Canvot headed into his own net from a delivery by Pascal Gross. Three minutes later Diego Gomez scored from the halfway line while Palace goalkeeper Walter Benitez was off his line. In the 10th minute Yasin Ayari made it 3-0. Jean-Philippe Mateta hit the bar for Palace during the match.
Charalampos Kostoulas scored Brighton's fourth in the 48th minute, after a VAR check for handball, and the goal was allowed to stand. Substitute Jack Hinshelwood completed the scoring in the 84th minute. Brighton's five goals took their tally to 23 in the league, the most in the division so far. They have taken 16 points from their first seven league games.
Gomez's strike drew particular attention. The Premier League had not seen a goal from further out since November 2017, and it came from 56 yards. The distance has also been put at about 50 yards. Asked whether the shot had been worked on in training, Brighton head coach Fabian Hürzeler said: "No, I think that's just quality."
Hürzeler also spoke about how his players should spend the evening after the derby. He said: "They shouldn't look at the table. They should enjoy the night today without a mobile phone, enjoy a beer or something else". His comments came after a result that left Brighton with the highest league goal total in the division.
Match of the Day pundits Shay Given and Dion Dublin analysed the win, and Dublin said Brighton could be in the title race. Our own assessment of the beaten side is that Palace's defence has looked fragile since losing Marc Guehi and Maxence Lacroix. That is a judgement on the team rather than a fact about the match itself.
The fixture carried some history. Hürzeler was booed off in this fixture last season after Palace won 1-0. The Premier League's match report dates that win at Brighton to 8 February 2026, and it was Palace's first victory in 13 matches in all competitions. Lewis Dunk's long-range strike against Coventry was also voted September's goal of the month.
Hürzeler said the next challenge is on Thursday, when Brighton play Jablonec on 22 October. Brighton's next league game is away at Liverpool. They will go into that match having taken 16 points from their first seven league games, and with the most league goals of any side in the division so far.
