West Ham, on the back of six consecutive home wins, put in an abysmal performance and brought their impressive London Stadium record to a very drab end.
Crystal Palace got a huge chunk of fortune, with the deflection coming from Michael Olise's late shot at goal - resulting in the winner. That moment of fortune was one that The Eagles thoroughly deserved, based on their impressively positive play, throughout the afternoon.
The hosts had opened the score, through one of their very rare moments of quality. Said Benrahma's powerful strike in the 20th minute came very much against the run of the early play.
Just before half-time, Wilfried Zaha was gifted the chance to equalise. After a poor bit of play from Craig Dawson and Thilo Kehrer, Crystal Palace's star man gleefully capitalised and sent the teams level, going into the break.
West Ham improved slightly in the second half. However, the late winner was one which ensured that the scoreline reflected the balance of the game more fairly.
Here are the some of the main talking points from London Stadium:
Benrahma substitution sparks growing tension between Moyes and supporters
David Moyes' decision to take off Benrahma was greeted by loud boos from the home crowd.
Manuel Lanzini replaced West Ham's goalscorer, after 64 minutes. Benrahma's name rang around the stadium, as the Algerian made his way around the touchline, to the bench.
“I thought he scored a good goal, I don’t know if he had much of an impact after" - stated Moyes after the game, when discussing his decision to take off West Ham's goalscorer. Another quote showed how Moyes was clearly aware of the crowd's reaction to the withdrawal of Benrahma:
"There’s a lot of people, a lot of experts out there isn’t there? You have to make the decisions that you think gets you the best chance”. The condescending tone of Moyes' address towards some of the supporters will only go towards increasing the building pressure on the West Ham manager.
With yesterday's defeat, The Hammers ended an impressive run of home form. However, during that period, their wins came against Wolves, Fulham, Bournemouth and all of the opposition from West Ham's UEFA Europa Conference League group - six very winnable fixtures. This added context goes a long way towards limiting the positivity, which a run of six consecutive home wins may, initially, cause.
West Ham now find themselves just two points above the relegation zone. Their final fixture, before the 2022 FIFA World Cup, is the visit of an in-form Leicester team.
The potential or, perhaps, already ongoing breakdown of the relationship between Moyes and the supporters may mean that a negative outcome in that final game would instigate further doubt on the experienced manager's future at the club.
Scamacca showing signs of becoming the new Haller
When Gianluca Scamacca returned from the final international break of 2022, he seemed to have kick-started his West Ham career.
Goals in three consecutive games, two of which in the Premier League, were the perfect start to Scamacca's October. However, the month passed with the forward unable to get himself on the scoresheet, again.
His start to November was a stark contrast to the first fixture of last month. From the stunning volley to open the score against Wolves, yesterday saw Scamacca substituted at half-time, after a very passive 45 minutes.
In 2019, Sebastien Haller had also got his West Ham career off to a fast start. The then-West Ham record signing scored four league goals, from his seven opening fixtures. After his goal against Crystal Palace, on 5 October, It took Haller over three months to find the back of the net, again.
Similarly to Haller, Scamacca is now experiencing a drop-off in goalscoring form. From his last goal, against Fulham, it has now been seven appearances (five starts) without one, for the Italian.
The isolation of Haller was a huge issue, during the Ivorian's time in London. The forward received very limited service from his team-mates and was a clear, wrong fit with Moyes' playing style and demands from his centre forwards - leading to his eventual, cut-price exit to Ajax, where he went on to revive his goalscoring record.
Scamacca's first half against Crystal Palace was very reminiscent of the times of Haller leading the line for West Ham. There was a significant disconnect between him and the rest of the team, leading to a frustrating half-time withdrawal.
Exciting Palace forwards represent the Vieira revolution
Crystal Palace's positive mindset in the fixture ensured that the fluidity of the attacking trio of Wilfried Zaha, Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze was on full show.
As many have already highlighted, The Eagles have fairly seamlessly transitioned from the days of Roy Hodgson's usually-frustrating football.
The arrival of Patrick Vieira swiftly meant a drastic change - the greater freedom of expression, in attacking areas.
In possession, Zaha, Olise and Eze occupied fairly narrow positions, with Jordan Ayew and Tyrick Mitchell stretching out the West Ham defensive unit, by providing wide options. The trio were allowed time and time again to receive the ball in dangerous half-spaces between the hosts' defence and midfield, causing plenty of moments of unrest for their opposition.
Vieira's first season in charge culminated in Crystal Palace ending the 2021/22 league campaign with a positive goal difference for the first time, since their most-recent return to the top flight (2013).
This time around, a place in the top half of the table - just two points off of the European spots, represents further progress and an exciting future. A successful trip to bottom-placed Nottingham Forest may lead to Crystal Palace heading into the World Cup break, while occupying those European places.
Guehi and Andersen partnership is of exceptional quality
Coinciding with the arrival of Vieira were the signings of Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen.
The pair immediately became Crystal Palace's first-choice centre-back partnership and ensured the team's best defensive record, since their return to the top division - 46 goals conceded, from 38 fixtures.
Yesterday, Guehi and Andersen, along with the rest of the visitors' defensive unit, completely nullified West Ham's attacking threat.
Although the midfield could have done slightly more to prevent the effort, Benrahma's goal came out of nowhere and was a fantastic strike from outside of the box.
Following and proceeding that, West Ham were limited to just five attempts at goal, adding up to a damning total of 0.19xG. This represents the control which the visitors maintained during significant portions of the game and the defensive stability they showed on the few occasions when they were forced to.
The 22-year-old English international and the 26-year-old Danish international have formed a formidable defensive partnership - two fantastic examples of Crystal Palace's effective recent recruitment.