Southampton squandered an early lead at Selhurst Park, falling 2-1 to Crystal Palace and extending their winless run in the Premier League to nine matches. The defeat leaves the Saints rooted to the bottom of the table and facing an increasingly uphill battle to avoid relegation.
New manager Ivan Jurić, now with back-to-back losses in his first two games, faces a formidable challenge. No team in Premier League history has survived relegation after collecting just six points by the halfway stage of the season, and Southampton’s current form offers little hope of breaking that trend.
Jurić’s pragmatic adjustments initially seemed to pay off, as Southampton ended a four-game scoring drought in the league when Tyler Dibling struck after 14 minutes. However, their lead lasted just 17 minutes. Crystal Palace equalized in contentious circumstances, with Trevoh Chalobah’s header from a corner standing despite Southampton’s protests over an apparent foul on goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale by Jean-Philippe Mateta. A lengthy VAR check failed to overturn the decision.
Palace seized control after halftime, completing their comeback when Eberechi Eze’s well-hit shot deflected off a defender, wrong-footing Ramsdale and securing a much-needed victory for the hosts. The result snapped Palace’s own three-game winless streak across all competitions.
Southampton, in contrast, struggled to muster meaningful chances to equalize, underlining their attacking woes. They remain six points adrift of 19th-placed Ipswich, while Crystal Palace opened up a six-point cushion above the relegation zone, easing their own survival concerns.
For Southampton, the task ahead grows increasingly dire, with time running out to reverse their fortunes.
