Four takeaways from Crystal Palace’s 1-1 draw against Brighton – Zaha scores on 400th appearance as Eagles suffer late blow

On his 400th Crystal Palace appearance, Wilfried Zaha’s opener was cancelled out by Neal Maupay’s last-minute goal to earn the visitors a point and break Palace hearts.

Patrick Vieira made two changes from the side that lost 3-0 to Liverpool last time out, with Luka Milivojevic and Odsonne Edouard making their first starts of the season in place of Cheikhou Kouyate and Christian Benteke.

Here are Edmund Brack’s four takeaways from Selhurst Park:

UNFORTUNATE WAY TO CONCEDE, BUT PALACE’S PERFORMANCE WAS REFRESHING

Despite taking the first-half lead, Palace pushed and searched to extend their tally. Jordan Ayew was presented with the clearest chance to extend Vieira’s side lead but missed a glorious opportunity when he was put through one-on-one with Robert Sanchez.

Joachim Andersen and Marc Guehi were resolute before the final kick, and Palace’s midfield dominated Graham Potter’s side.

The Eagles only notched up three shots at Brighton’s goal last season across both games. However, this evening, Vieira’s side always looked to score, with the hosts registering eight shots throughout the 90 minutes.

While the last-minute equaliser blemished the result, there were plenty of positives to take from the performance.

WILFRIED ZAHA PROVIDES ON HIS 400th PALACE APPEARANCE 

While it may not have been the gut-busting run that involved turning the Brighton team inside out before smashing a shot into the top corner, Wilfried Zaha’s penalty personified coolness to hand the home side the first-half lead.

The 28-year-old, who was playing his 400th game for the South Londoners and his 14th in a Palace shirt against Brighton, showed his new-found leadership to take the game by the scruff of its neck to put the Eagles ahead.

Despite being swarmed by Brighton shirts whenever he ventured forward, Zaha’s influence and attacking potency sent shivers into the Seagulls’ defence throughout the 90 minutes.

EDOUARD AND MILIVOJEVIC MAKE FIRST STARTS OF THE SEASON

While Odsonne Edouard had a relatively subdued first half, Luka Milivojevic’s first start of the season showed glimmers of his best in a Crystal Palace shirt.

Acting as the quarterback, Milivojevic served as another route to build forward, with his intelligent passing range breaking the Brighton press and setting free one of the overlapping full-backs on multiple occasions.

Having the third-most touches of any player in a Palace shirt before he was substituted for Cheikhou Kouyate, Milivojevic slotted seamlessly back into the starting line-up. The Serbian’s defensive nous also allowed for Gallagher to break free from the midfield and immerse himself in the Palace press.

As for Edouard, while the £14million arrival from Celtic didn’t get amongst the goals this evening, his contribution demonstrated that the Frenchman can lead the line for Vieira’s attack. And the 23-year-old formed a ferocious pressing unit with Zaha, Ayew and Gallagher, which Brighton struggled to cope with.

PALACE’S ELECTRIC START DESERVED THAT GOAL

Palace’s pulsating start at Selhurst Park, forcing three corners in the first seven minutes and penning the visitors deep into their own half, was just missing the finishing touch.

With the packed out Selhurst Park crowd acting as the driving force to push Vieira’s side forward, the combination of Tyrick Mitchell, Wilfried Zaha and Conor Gallagher intertwined to tie the Brighton midfield duo into knots.

While the combination of tantalising crosses and shots from the edge of the area lacked the ability to give the home side the early lead, their attacking determination allowed the Eagles to remain the dominant force in the first half and eventually find a breakthrough.