Matheus Franca’s injury-time header earned a point for Crystal Palace as they drew 1-1 at Southampton, whose relegation could be confirmed this weekend.
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Jean-Philippe Mateta created the best opportunity for Palace barely a minute into the match but his brilliant strike on goal crashed against the crossbar.
That missed opportunity was emphasised when the Saints went in front midway through the first half, as Paul Onuachu planted a header into the net despite Dean Henderson’s best efforts at clawing the ball out.
The Premier League’s bottom side looked set for their first victory since the beginning of February but were undone in injury time by substitute Franca.
Southampton remain at the foot of the table but now move on to 10 points, while Palace stay in 12th place, as their five-match winning run in all competitions comes to an end.
Ivan Juric's side will be relegated if they lose at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and Wolverhampton Wanderers win at Ipswich Town on Saturday.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 |
Wolves
WOL
|
30 | -17 | 29 |
| 18 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
30 | -33 | 20 |
| 19 |
Leicester
LEI
|
30 | -42 | 17 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
30 | -49 | 10 |
How the match unfolded
Palace nearly went in front inside two minutes, as Mateta picked up the ball from deep, ran with it unchallenged and struck an effort from outside the penalty area which cannoned off the underside of the crossbar.
Southampton remained competitive in the contest and took the lead with their first chance of the match, as a fine cross from Mateus Fernandes was met by a powerful header from Onuachu.
The visitors began to exert more control as the half drew to a close, with Aaron Ramsdale making a strong save to deny Mateta’s shot on the turn inside the area.
This pressure continued after the restart. A mazy run by Ismaila Sarr caused problems for the Saints defence and he found Eberechi Eze inside the area, but he could only curl his effort wide.
Palace looked like they were running out of ideas until Jefferson Lerma whipped in a cross in the 91st minute, with Franca stooping low at the front post to head home and hand the visitors a point.
Southampton show resilience despite setback
Southampton boss Juric said before this game that the goal for his side was to avoid being labelled as the worst team in the history of the Premier League. Saints needed to pick up three points from their remaining nine matches to better Derby County’s record total of 11 points in 2007/08.
Changes were made, with Tyler Dibling dropped to the bench and Jack Stephens handed a first start in four months. But the home side made a bright start to the match despite almost conceding early on.
In this instance, they managed to make their early pressure count and took the lead as Flynn Downes and Fernandes combined brilliantly, with Onuachu heading home from the Portuguese’s cross to make it back-to-back goals in the Premier League.
Saints remained compact and comfortable in their defensive shape for large parts of the second half but couldn’t hold on for a victory that their performance deserved.
Juric and his squad must focus on the positive aspects of this fine display when they travel to Spurs on Sunday.
Below-par Palace suffer quarter-final hangover
Palace earned a place in the semi-final of the FA Cup for the first time in three years with an impressive 3-0 win over Fulham last time out. They will have been hopeful of picking up another away win and continuing their strong end to the season against the Premier League’s bottom club.
They were inches away from going ahead early on through Mateta’s wonderful strike but then allowed the game to drift in the first half. That encouraged Southampton to press higher up the pitch and force a number of mistakes in possession from Palace.
Adam Wharton seemed hurried on the ball, especially in the first half, and that contributed to a performance that lacked creativity for large periods.
This display was not up to Palace's recent standards that had earned them 11 wins from their last 14 matches, but a fine header from Franca continued Palace’s impressive unbeaten run in all competitions.
Oliver Glasner’s side will hope to get back to winning ways when they host rivals Brighton and Hove Albion at the weekend.
Club reports
Southampton report | Palace report
What the managers said
Ivan Juric: "I think we had a very good performance, we controlled the game, didn't risk anything, they scored on one set-piece. It's frustrating because I think the guys deserved a victory.
"When you work with the guys for three months you know them, today we really had a good game. I think in some moments we can play better, technically, we missed some really easy passes."
Oliver Glasner: "It was a very difficult game, we were not on our top level, especially with focus and mentality, it looked like we were mentally tired. But it was nothing to do with our attitude. We fought until the last second to get the equaliser.
"It’s important to keep going and keep believing, we kept going and even after scoring we wanted to win the game."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Southampton are winless in their last six Premier League meetings with Crystal Palace (D2 L4), with this now the Saints’ longest run without a win against the Eagles across the top four tiers.
Crystal Palace are unbeaten in their last 10 away league games (W6 D4). In fact, since the start of this run in November, no side has picked up more points on the road than the Eagles in the Premier League (22, alongside Liverpool).
Southampton have won just 10 points from their 30 Premier League games this season – the joint-lowest tally of any side at this stage of a single campaign in the competition (Sunderland in 2005-06 and Derby County in 2007-08, both also 10 points).
