Brighton and Crystal Palace are two sides on opposite trajectories: the Seagulls are flying high towards Europe and the Eagles are swooping towards a dangerous relegation battle.
Palace had gone three straight games without a shot on target, whilst Brighton had conceded just once at home in the last four league games; the task at hand for the visitors looked quite ominous. The rivalry between the sides means that everything goes out of the window though, as Brighton has proven in the last seven meetings where they've failed to beat their enemies from South London despite significantly better form and performances.
The hoodoo finally ended on the second attempt for Roberto De Zerbi, doing something that his predecessor Graham Potter failed to do across his entire spell, beating Palace. Having been extremely unfortunate a month ago to come away from Selhurst Park with just a point, the Italian's side picked up a monumental victory for bragging rights and their battle for finishing in the top seven.
Palace remains the only side without a win this calendar year and sit just three points above the bottom three: goalless in four and lacking quality in forward areas, questions over Patrick Vieira's future are starting to strengthen. With the league leaders at the weekend, the situation looks very bleak and his side is at considerable risk of being dragged into a torrid relegation battle as the season curtails.
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Story of the match
Early promise quickly diminishes for Palace:
The away side actually started very brightly with Wilfred Zaha's twists and turns ending in Steele pushing his strike out for a corner. After one minute, Palace had managed something they failed to do in the previous 270 - trouble the opposition keeper. Another two glorious opportunities passed before Brighton had any sort of chances themselves, as Odsonne Edouard headed wide from a corner and Michael Olise's shot was met by a strong palm from Jason Steele who spread himself brilliantly.
Vieira's side was left to rue the missed opportunities though, as Koaru Mitoma danced through the Palace midfield and slid in Solly March who cut across Marc Guehi and slid the ball into the far right corner, past 19-year-old debutant Joe Whitworth in the Palace goal.
Whilst it was slightly against the run of play, Brighton had begun to assert their dominance through slicker and more effective passing in the phases before, and if previous weeks had been anything to go by, it was about time De Zerbi's side had a little bit of luck.
There's almost no one else as fitting as Solly March to score the decisive goal in such a crucial fixture. He "gets" what it means to the fans and having spent his whole career at the club, it would have meant the world to him, especially after having had his goal at Selhurst Park cancelled out and only coming back with a point.
Chances dried up and both sides defended resolutely, but Brighton was in control of possession and the Palace attack that looked fresher than in previous weeks was being kept relatively quiet. Zaha, playing against his statistically favourite opponents, was in a brilliant battle with Joel Veltman who, battered and bruised, was getting the better of the Ivorian.
The only other drama of the half came when Cheick Doucore tripped Moises Caicedo as he darted forward and somehow managed to avoid a second yellow card. The Brighton bench was in disbelief with Roberto De Zerbi getting booked later on in the game for gesturing towards the referee as one of his players was booked for an identical challenge.
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Second half
The second half was quite tense and neither side asserted any real dominance. Brighton was beginning to grow some momentum but a brief stoppage for a power cut after the hour mark stemmed any sort of flow that was beginning to develop. Whitworth made two smart saves to deny Alexis Mac Allister's glancing header and Pervis Estupinan's drive across the goal but they were the only real chances that Brighton could muster up.
Palace huffed and puffed but did not challenge Steele at all in the second period. In the 92nd minute, a sloppy pass and slip from Pascal Gross on the edge of the Brighton box gave Ahamada a glorious chance but the young Frenchman completely squandered the opportunity, seeing their last push go without any reward.
It wasn't the most fluid performance from De Zerbi's side, nor were they anywhere near as good as they were in the revere fixture, but the three points will taste just as sweet as they climb up towards Liverpool in sixth. Palace will spend another week in 12th place, which in itself is not too bad considering their form, but this season the table is tighter than ever and they are only now a couple of results going against them, away from being in the bottom three.
Both sides have huge amounts to play for, and whatever happens in the final stages of the season, Roberto De Zerbi's side is streets ahead of their rivals and finally has the result to show for it.
Patrick Vieira's position looks ominous however, like with David Moyes at West Ham, the lack of alternative options and difficulties of changing style in such a tight and precarious position could be a major factor in the Palace board giving him more time than he perhaps deserves. Whether he stays or goes, the squad have a huge challenge ahead of themselves to prove their worth as a premier league side.