Brighton & Hove Albion 5-0 Crystal Palace: Match Report, Goals, Stats and Ratings
Premier League Matchday 7 · Sunday 18 October 2026 · The American Express Community Stadium, Falmer · referee R. Jones · full time
Full time: Brighton & Hove Albion 5-0 Crystal Palace
Brighton & Hove Albion beat Crystal Palace 5-0 in Premier League Matchday 7 on Sunday 18 October 2026 at The American Express Community Stadium. The goals: Diego Gómez 7', Yasin Ayari 10', Charalampos Kostoulas 49', Jack Hinshelwood 84'. Moneyball's pre-match estimate had the result right.
How Brighton & Hove Albion won it
An own goal by Jaydee Canvot put Brighton & Hove Albion ahead in the 4th minute. Diego Gómez made it 2-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion in the 7th minute, set up by Olivier Boscagli. Yasin Ayari made it 3-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion in the 10th minute, set up by Charalampos Kostoulas. Charalampos Kostoulas made it 4-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion in the 49th minute. Jack Hinshelwood made it 5-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion in the 84th minute, set up by Luka Vuskovic.
It was 3-0 at half-time.
The referee, R. Jones, showed 3 yellow cards: 2 to Brighton & Hove Albion and 1 to Crystal Palace.
Brighton & Hove Albion: F. Hürzeler, 4-2-3-1 · Crystal Palace: P. Sage, 3-4-2-1.
Moneyball's prediction against the result
The prediction was right. Moneyball's pick on the Match Board was Over 3.00, and on 5-0 it was right.
The estimate's most likely result was a Brighton & Hove Albion win at 58%, and that is what happened. Its single most likely score was 2-1 (10%).
The match had far more goals than expected: the estimate was about 3.3 goals and there were 5.
Over 2.5 goals had been put at 64%; with 5 goals the over came in, as the estimate leaned.
Both teams to score was 62%; they did not both score, against the estimate.
The pre-match consensus had a Brighton & Hove Albion win at 58%, the same lean as Moneyball.
Computed before kick-off from both sides' season goals and expected goals as of 2026-10-09, through a Dixon-Coles score model, and left as it was.
Why it went this way
On the day the expected goals were 0.56 for Brighton & Hove Albion and 2.41 for Crystal Palace.
Brighton & Hove Albion scored about 4.4 more than their chances were worth: clinical finishing, or a goalkeeper having a bad day.
Crystal Palace left about 2.4 goals' worth of chances on the pitch.
Crystal Palace created the better chances, 2.41 xG to 0.56, and still lost. On chances alone, the result could easily have gone the other way.
The run of play itself went against the pre-match reading: Moneyball expected Brighton & Hove Albion to create more, and Crystal Palace did.
Brighton & Hove Albion had 9 shots on target, Crystal Palace 1.
Crystal Palace's goalkeeper made 5 saves.
Brighton & Hove Albion had 57% of the ball and turned it into the win.
Where the two sides stood before this match
Brighton & Hove Albion came into it with 10 Premier League matches played, scoring 2.6 and conceding 0.7 a match, with 1.97 expected goals for and 1.42 against, and had won 70% of their matches.
Crystal Palace came into it with 10 Premier League matches played, scoring 1.0 and conceding 2.4 a match, with 1.28 expected goals for and 2.42 against, and had won 20% of their matches.
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Crystal Palace: the match in numbers
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Match statistics | Crystal Palace |
|---|---|---|
| 57% | Ball possession | 43% |
| 0.56 | Expected goals (xG) | 2.41 |
| 17 | Total shots | 5 |
| 9 | Shots on target | 1 |
| 3 | Big chances | 1 |
| 517 | Total passes | 384 |
| 85% | Pass accuracy | 79% |
| 8 | Corners | 5 |
| 13 | Fouls | 11 |
| 2 | Offsides | 2 |
| 12 | Tackles | 12 |
| 1 | Saves | 5 |
| 2 | Yellow cards | 1 |
Team statistics from Sportmonks.
Player ratings and man of the match
Man of the match: Charalampos Kostoulas (Brighton & Hove Albion), rated 8.0 by Sportmonks, with 1 goal, 1 assist.
Brighton & Hove Albion
- Charalampos Kostoulas 8.0 1 goal, 1 assist
- Luka Vuskovic 7.9 1 assist
- Olivier Boscagli 7.6 1 assist
- Diego Gómez 7.4 1 goal
- Lewis Dunk 7.4
Crystal Palace
- Jefferson Lerma 6.8
- Daichi Kamada 6.7
- Walter Benítez 6.6
- Jean-Philippe Mateta 6.5
- Tyrick Mitchell 6.5
The lowest-rated starter was Jaydee Canvot at 6.0. Ratings run from 0 to 10; around 7.0 is a solid match.
What comes next
- Brighton & Hove Albion: Hull City vs Brighton & Hove Albion Sunday 22 November 2026 · Premier League
- Crystal Palace: Coventry City vs Crystal Palace Saturday 21 November 2026 · Premier League
Each preview has Moneyball's estimate for the next match, published before kick-off and marked against the result afterwards, as this one is.
Questions about Brighton & Hove Albion vs Crystal Palace
What was the score in Brighton & Hove Albion vs Crystal Palace?
Brighton & Hove Albion 5-0 Crystal Palace (half-time 3-0), Premier League, Sunday 18 October 2026.
Who scored in Brighton & Hove Albion vs Crystal Palace?
Diego Gómez 7', Yasin Ayari 10', Charalampos Kostoulas 49', Jack Hinshelwood 84'.
Did Moneyball predict Brighton & Hove Albion vs Crystal Palace correctly?
The prediction was right. Moneyball's pick on the Match Board was Over 3.00, and on 5-0 it was right.
Who was man of the match in Brighton & Hove Albion vs Crystal Palace?
Charalampos Kostoulas, rated 8.0 by Sportmonks.
Who refereed Brighton & Hove Albion vs Crystal Palace?
R. Jones.
Every match, before and after
Moneyball writes a preview with its estimate before every match of Europe's top five leagues and the European cups, then marks it against the result, hits and misses alike.
Moneyball is a football statistics site. No model predicts football reliably: every figure is an estimate.