This match kicked off in a rainstorm of biblical proportions - and Brighton swept Crystal Palace away. This will take some getting over for the travelling fans, and their under-fire manager Pierre Sage. 

Jaydee Canvot nodded Pascal Gross’s free kick into his own net after only four minutes and Diego Gomez hit a spectacular over the head of Walter Benitez from the half way line three minutes later, his first goal of the season. After nine minutes it was 3-0, Yasin Ayari’s shot deflecting in off the luckless Canvot.

Charalampos Kostoulas made it 4-0 early in the second half after Ayari’s shot from Gross’s cross had been blocked. Sussex-born sub Jack Hinshelwood – whose grandfather had played for Palace in the fixture – scored the fifth after Benitez had parried Luka Vuskovic’s header. 

Goal of the month twice in a row? 

Brighton won the September goal of the month award thanks to a 25-yard thunderbolt from captain Lewis Dunk in their 5-0 win at Coventry. 

And his teammate Gomez must surely be favourite for the October award. The ball was just crossing the half-way line when the Paraguay midfielder looked up and drove it fiercely goalwards, catching goalkeeper Benitez far enough off his line to have no chance of getting back. 

This was no Beckhamesque lob, but a blast that succeeded through its power as much as its height and shock value, and it made him Brighton’s 11th different scorer in the league this season. 

A rivalry, not a derby 

Many people unfamiliar with the history of this fixture question how two clubs some 45 miles apart can have a real rivalry. According to well-known motoring website, the distance between Selhurst Park and the Amex Stadium is about the same as that between Portman Road and Carrow Road, yet nobody questions the antagonism between Ipswich Town and Norwich City.

It all began in the mid-70s as the two clubs – managed by former Tottenham rivals Alan Mullery (Brighton) and Terry Venables (Palace) followed each other from the third division to the first and also clashed in a series of FA Cup ties.

The intense atmosphere has sometimes produced results that have defied league form, and home fans with memories of a few such games were concerned that Palace might burst the Brighton bubble despite the excellent recent performances that took them into the match in third place in the Premier League and as the division’s top scorers. Those fears were put to bed after just nine minutes.

Hurzeler: Something is missing!

Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler had yet to beat Palace in four meetings before Sunday.

On the eve of the game he said: 'In my journey so far with this club, we've experienced a lot of really, really positive things. But one thing is still missing.' 

Not any more. He has built a team and a squad that exudes self-belief and they tore into Palace from the first whistle. Sage will hope he does not have to wait as long for his first win in the fixture. 

Sage in trouble?

A section of the Brighton fans chanted “sacked in the morning” at Hurzeler during Palace’s 1-0 win at the Amex in February. But despite that nadir, owner Tony Bloom kept faith in the German, he pulled his team round and they qualified for the UEFA Conference League. 

So this defeat may not do any long-lasting damage to the Eagles’ prospects in general and those of Sage in particular – despite gleeful “sacked in the morning” chants predictably directed at the Palace dugout. That said, Sage may have even greater cause today to feel grateful for last weekend's victory over Nottingham Forest and his predecessor, Oliver Glasner.

The Thursday-Sunday grind:

Both sides were in European action on Thursday, and Brighton’s squad strength told then as they were able to make eight changes and still stroll past FK Kauno Zalgiris 4-0, while Palace had a tougher evening in a 3-2 defeat away to Lyons. 

Eight of Palace’s starting eleven here had also started that game while Brighton had seven fresh faces and it showed. 

The Seagulls were again able to deploy the energetic high press that was too much for Arsenal in their previous home Premier League game. Brighton were first to every ball, even in the second half.