Albion 5 Crystal Palace 0: Diego Gomez Scores From the Halfway Line as Three Goals Come in 10 Minutes
Fabian Hurzeler enjoys the moment after Albion's 5-0 win over Crystal Palace (Photo: Paul Hazlewood/Brighton & Hove Albion)
Brighton & Hove Albion beat Crystal Palace 5-0 at the Amex on Sunday 18 October 2026, with three goals in the first ten minutes and one of them struck from the halfway line. Diego Gomez scored from 51.3 yards, an own goal by Palace defender Jaydee Canvot and a Yasin Ayari finish made it 3-0 before ten minutes were up, and Babis Kostoulas and substitute Jack Hinshelwood completed the win.
It is the first time Albion have scored five goals against Palace since 1956, according to the club. We previewed the game in our Albion v Crystal Palace preview, and this is how it played out.
Sources: Brighton & Hove Albion match report, Albion 5 Crystal Palace 0, 18 October 2026 and head coach reaction
A free-kick, an own goal and a quick start
Albion were ahead after five minutes. Pascal Gross whipped a free-kick in from the left, and the first head to it belonged to Palace defender Jaydee Canvot, who diverted the ball past goalkeeper Walter Benitez for an own goal.
Diego Gomez scores from the halfway line
Two minutes later it was 2-0 thanks to what the club called a brilliant piece of improvisation. Gomez spotted that Benitez had strayed outside the six-yard box, took a touch and drove a first-time shot from a yard inside Palace’s half, over the stranded keeper and into the net.
The club says the strike measured 51.3 yards, the longest distance a Premier League goal has been scored from since Wayne Rooney in 2017, and that only seven players have scored from further out in the league’s history. Its match report called it a goal of the season contender.
Ayari makes it three before ten minutes
The Amex was still celebrating when Albion broke from midfield again. Kostoulas fed the ball across the face of goal and the unmarked Ayari swept a right-foot shot into the bottom corner from about 12 yards. It was 3-0 after nine minutes and 30 seconds, which the club says is the earliest a team had scored three goals in the Premier League since April 2023.
Gross, who added two more assists to his collection, Ayari and Gomez made up what the club called an irresistible midfield combination, with intensity, physicality and clever use of space and the ball. Ferdi Kadioglu and Kostoulas went close to adding more before half-time, with Benitez needing a fingertip save to keep out a Kadioglu strike from the edge of the box.
Kostoulas and Hinshelwood finish the job
Four minutes into the second half it was 4-0. Kostoulas had just fired inches wide after a long pass from Luka Vuskovic when Gross crossed from the left, Ayari’s shot was blocked and Kostoulas reacted first to lift a left-foot shot past Benitez from close range.
Palace substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta should have pulled one back, but from six yards his shot hit the bar. Seven minutes from time Vuskovic ran round the back to meet a Hadjam corner, Benitez parried his header and it went straight to Hinshelwood, who scored from a yard out.
The club pointed out that the fifth goal came from an academy graduate, in the game it says means more than any other to Albion fans, and in front of the north stand.
The five goals
Goals one to three are shown a little apart on the line so they do not overlap. Times follow the club’s match report.
The numbers behind the win
The match data shows how one-sided it was. Albion had 16 shots to Palace’s five and put nine on target, while Palace managed one on target. Albion had 57% of the ball.
Source: match statistics from Sportradar
Hurzeler: a privilege, but stay humble
Head coach Fabian Hurzeler said it was a privilege to watch the win, but insisted the players will stay humble.
“It’s just a privilege to be part of this group. The players are incredible. When they face adversity they are always there for each other. They challenge each other, but they also take care of each other.”
Fabian Hurzeler, Albion head coach
“I hope the fans can enjoy the night. It’s a much better feeling than a few months ago when we lost to Palace and that’s why I’m really happy for the supporters and for everyone who was involved.”
Fabian Hurzeler
“We can enjoy it, but on the other side it’s also very important to stay humble and stay grounded because in football things can change quickly. That should be our identity, that we are never satisfied and keep going to get better and better.”
Fabian Hurzeler
The club’s match report describes the result as a sixth successive win for Albion.
How Albion lined up
Source: line-up as published in the club’s match report
What is next for Albion
The win comes in the middle of a busy spell, which we looked at in our seven games in 21 days preview. These are the next three Premier League games in the fixture data, with kick-off times that can change for broadcast. The full list is on the club’s fixtures page.
Sources
More football and local sport is under Football and Sport on ImJustBrighton.
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