Crystal Palace 2 Southampton 1: Chalobah and Eze give Eagles breathing room in bid to avoid relegation
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Sponsored by. OLIVER GLASNER used Kobe Bryant as a source of inspiration for his pre-match programme notes. And Eberechi Eze responded by producing an MVP performance to help Crystal Palace see off relegation rivals Southampton thanks to a 52nd-minute net-bulging, slam dunk of a winner.
![[Eberechi Eze netted a brilliant winner as Palace fought back to beat Southampton]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/eberechi-eze-crystal-palace-celebrates-960412077.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Glasner quoted the late NBA legend Bryant before kick-off: "Try to be better today than you were yesterday, and better tomorrow than you were today. This won’t stop in 2025.". With just one defeat in their last eight, those words are beginning to have the desired effect.
![[The 26-year-old smashed home just after the break to complete a quickfire comeback]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-crystal-palaces-eberechi-eze-960411435.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Meanwhile, the Saints look like a basketball team full of players trying to shoot wild three-pointers with one arm behind their backs, still treading serious water at the foot of the Prem. No win in nine, just one victory all season and without an away-day top-flight triumph since February 2023 – almost TWO YEARS – now puts them 10 points from safety.
![[Southampton are now ten points from safety]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-southamptons-aaron-ramsdale-looks-960411901.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
As Palace edge away from danger, Southampton look no closer to survival under Ivan Juric than the recently sacked Russell Martin. And even when there is a glimmer of hope, it is quickly dashed. Tyler Dibling’s 14th minute opener was cancelled out by Trevoh Chalobah’s 31st minute header with Aaron Ramsdale in the spotlight again.
Juric’s dreams of becoming just the fifth manager to guide a Prem team to safety after being bottom at Christmas look more fanciful by the second, even with 19 games to go. Southampton are the kings of shaking things up this season when it comes to squad rotation, using 31 different players this term.
![[Tyler Dibling prodded Saints ahead in murky conditions at Selhurst Park]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/tyler-dibling-southampton-scores-teams-960402756.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
