Burnley were dead and buried. Trailing 2-0 to the £48m striker Jørgen Strand Larsen’s first goals for Crystal Palace after half an hour, it looked inevitable that Scott Parker’s side would match their club record 17-match winless run in the top flight that dates all the way back to 1890. Yet after all the misery of the last three months for their supporters, everything changed in the space of six scintillating minutes just before half-time.
Burnley hit back through Hannibal Mejbri, Jaidon Anthony and an own goal from Jefferson Lerma to record only a second away win of the season since being promoted. It keeps alive their slim hopes of survival, although Parker will know it will take several more results like this to conjure up the greatest of escapes.
For Palace, it was a stark reminder that they are not out of the woods yet despite ending their own 12-match winless run with a cathartic victory over Brighton. Oliver Glasner’s side appeared to be coasting towards only their third home win in the league this season that would have eased their own relegation concerns but were guilty of allowing their opponents back into the game with sloppy defending.
The omens weren’t great for Burnley beforehand. Parker had never won a league match in London as an away manager and their team bus got caught in heavy traffic, causing kick-off to be delayed by 10 minutes. Despite struggling in front of their own supporters this season, Palace hadn’t lost here to a promoted side since 2017 – a 4-0 defeat to Sunderland.
