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Jean-Philippe Mateta's first-half header was his eighth goal of the season in all competitions At a glance Jean-Philippe Mateta's fourth goal in two home league games puts Crystal Palace ahead Nathan Collins own goal doubles hosts' advantage Ismaila Sarr denied a third by the inside of the post PLAYER RATER Crystal Palace ended a three-match winless run in the Premier League with victory over in-form Brentford at Selhurst Park. Jean-Philippe Mateta, who scored a hat-trick in Palace's 3-3 draw with Bournemouth a fortnight ago, breathed life into a largely uneventful first half when he sent a brilliant looping header over Caoimhin Kelleher and into the far corner. Victors over Liverpool in their last league game, Brentford were poor in the first half but could have restored parity when Daichi Kamada fouled Mikkel Damsgaard right on the edge of the Eagles' area – only for Damsgaard to blaze his free-kick high over the crossbar. Things went from bad to worse for the Bees early in the second half when defender Nathan Collins inadvertently headed Jefferson Lerma's long throw into his own net to give the home side a two-goal cushion. The unfortunate Collins almost gifted Palace a third when he lost possession to Ismaila Sarr deep inside his own half, but the Senegal international was only able to steer his shot against the inside of the post. Reiss Nelson forced a fine save out of Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson with a curling effort late in the second half, but Oliver Glasner's team held on comfortably. Have your say on Crystal Palace’s performance What did you make of Brentford’s display? Palace's 3-0 Carabao Cup victory at Anfield in midweek should have been cause for celebration for Glasner, but it meant the Eagles boss had to come to terms with the prospect of playing five games in just 11 days in mid-December. Glasner confessed he was "really upset" at his team's fixture pile-up, but Saturday's triumph over Brentford – only their second league win of the season at Selhurst Park – will go some way to lifting the Austrian's mood. There was little to choose between the teams in the opening 30 minutes, but Palace took control after Mateta's opener and could have gone into the break with a healthier advantage. Sarr drilled a low shot narrowly wide of Kelleher's left-hand post, but Collins' own goal early in the second period all but ended the game as a contest. The visitors dominated possession in the second half but never looked like clawing their way back, despite Henderson's fine one-handed stop to deny Nelson. The 28-year-old's save earned Palace their first home clean sheet since the goalless draw with promoted Sunderland on 13 September, and helped cement their place in the top half of the table. Keith Andrews had described Brentford's recent rise up the table as a "natural evolution" resulting from his players "constantly building relationships and understanding" with one another – but the Bees were horribly disjointed once Mateta had opened the scoring. Passes began to go astray for the visitors as the home side, buoyed by their opener, sought to press home their advantage before the interval. The Bees then fell apart completely early in the second half and could have had few complaints had Sarr given Palace a 3-0 lead, moments after they had gone 2-0 ahead. Brentford's first effort on target came six minutes later, but Kristoffer Ajer's tame, close-range header was easily held by Henderson, who was called into action only once more – by Nelson – before the full-time whistle. Andrews' side have exceeded expectations in the Premier League this season but have now lost four of their five top-flight away games under the Irishman, having lost only one of their final 11 league matches on the road under Thomas Frank. Things aren't about to get any easier for Brentford on their travels, with away games against Brighton, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City to come before Christmas. Crystal Palace welcome AZ Alkmaar to Selhurst Park in the Uefa Conference League on Thursday, 6 November (20: 00 GMT) before another home game against Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday, 9 November (14: 00 GMT). Brentford host Newcastle in their next league game on Sunday, 9 November (14: 00 GMT) before travelling to Brighton after the international break on Saturday, 22 November (15: 00 GMT). After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 1st November 2025 at 18: 52 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Oliver Glasner Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Manager: Keith Andrews Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Oliver Glasner Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Manager: Keith Andrews Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Premier League All competitions All competitions All competitions Crystal Palace have won just one of their eight Premier League games against Brentford (D5 L2), a 3-1 home win in December 2023. Having been winless in their first six Premier League meetings with Crystal Palace (D5 L1), Brentford achieved the league double over the Eagles last season (2-1 home, 2-1 away). The first two Premier League meetings between Crystal Palace and Brentford finished 0-0 – since then, both teams have scored in all six meetings between the sides. Crystal Palace have lost two of their last three Premier League matches (D1), as many as in their previous 19 games combined (W9 D8). They are unbeaten in their last 10 at Selhurst Park, however (W5 D5). Brentford have scored eight Premier League goals via throw-ins since the start of last season, five more than any other side. The two sides to put the most long throws into the opposition penalty area this campaign are Brentford (47) and Crystal Palace (38). Since the start of last season, Brentford have won seven Premier League matches in which they also conceded at least twice – three more than any other side; they beat Liverpool 3-2 on MD9. Only Burnley (17. 1%) have played a higher share of their passes long in the Premier League this season than Crystal Palace and Brentford (both 14. 9%). It’s Brentford highest percentage in a season since 2022-23 (16. 6%), while for Palace it’s their highest since 2019-20 (14. 9%). Excluding own goals, none of Brentford’s last 42 Premier League goals have been scored by an English player – only Wolves (75) are on a longer current run without an English scorer. Igor Thiago has netted six goals in his nine Premier League starts for Brentford this season, while his ratio of one goal every 152 minutes is the best of any Bees player in their Premier League history. Under Oliver Glasner, Jean-Philippe Mateta has scored 21 goals in 27 home Premier League starts for Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Since the date of his first home appearance under the Austrian, only Erling Haaland (23) has more home Premier League goals. Dango Ouattara (Brentford) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace). Attempt saved. Kristoffer Ajer (Brentford) header from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the top centre of the goal by Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace). Assisted by Jordan Henderson. Attempt blocked. Jefferson Lerma (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Marc Guéhi with a headed pass. Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Kristoffer Ajer. Foul by Sepp van den Berg (Brentford). Ismaïla Sarr (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt blocked. Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Ismaïla Sarr (Crystal Palace) hits the right post with a right footed shot from the centre of the box. Own Goal by Nathan Collins, Brentford. Crystal Palace 2, Brentford 0. Dango Ouattara (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace). Offside, Brentford. Kevin Schade is caught offside. Second Half begins Crystal Palace 1, Brentford 0. First Half ends, Crystal Palace 1, Brentford 0. Fourth official has announced 1 minutes of added time. Attempt missed. Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick. Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace). Kevin Schade (Brentford) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
