Match ends, Crystal Palace 4, Stoke City 1.
Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace4StokeStoke City1
Crystal Palace inflicted further misery on the Premier League's bottom side Stoke City with a thumping home win.
Palace were 2-0 up inside 12 minutes thanks to goals at set pieces from defenders James Tomkins and Scott Dann.
Stoke improved after the break but nearly went 3-0 down when Bojan Krkic cleared a Dann header off the line.
James McArthur's deflected strike was followed by a fine Andros Townsend goal before Marko Arnautovic scored a consolation with the game's final play.
Townsend's first goal for the Eagles came from a super low shot after he drove at the Stoke defence and cut the ball on to his right foot.
Goals raining in on Stoke
This is the third time this season that Stoke have conceded four goals.
Since goalkeeper Jack Butland suffered an ankle injury in England's friendly win over Germany in March, Stoke have failed to record a single clean sheet in the Premier League.
Worse than that, the Potters have won just one of the 12 league games the former Birmingham man has missed.
Their hopes of collecting a first Premier League win of the season on Sunday were all but over inside 15 minutes at Selhurst Park.
First Tomkins bundled in from a matter of inches out after Jonathan Walters flicked Andros Townsend's free-kick towards his own goal.
Then, just two minutes and 14 seconds later, it was 2-0 when Dann attacked Jason Puncheon's corner with real intent and headed home his second league goal of the season.
There was little veteran keeper Shay Given could do about any of the four goals but the 40-year-old has now conceded 26 times in his 10 Premier League appearances for the Potters.
A setback in his recovery means Butland could now be out until November, and if Stoke's poor run of form has not improved by then, manager Mark Hughes could find his tenure at the Britannia Stadium under increasing threat.
Terrific Townsend
Townsend's excellent individual strike capped an impressive performance by the England international.
The former Tottenham man also claimed an assist and the visitors had no answers to his direct running.
A petulant challenge by Arnautovic - the Austrian barging into Townsend after he had crossed the ball - led to the Eagles' third, when Jason Puncheon's free-kick found its way to McArthur, who scored via heavy deflection off Geoff Cameron.
Townsend, wing partner Wilfried Zaha and Puncheon all enjoyed a profitable afternoon as they exploited Stoke with their quick passing and movement.
Bad day for Bony
It was a tough day for all of Stoke's players after the concession of two early goals.
The shell-shocked visitors looked desperately disjointed as they tried to play their way back into the match.
New signing Wilfried Bony played as a lone front man for much of the game but received very little support from his team-mates and failed to hold the ball up when it did come his way.
The Manchester City loanee's day was summed up when he slipped after Mame Biram Diouf's low cross left him with a straightforward opportunity.
Bony was not the only Stoke forward to look off-colour, with Jonathan Walters miscuing in front of goal and Arnautovic cutting a frustrated figure throughout before scoring with a well-placed 20-yarder with the last kick of the game.
With his side looking so frail defensively, manager Hughes desperately needs his strikers to find some scoring form.
Man of the match - Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace)
What the managers said
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew told Sky Sports: "We looked solid, we are a powerful team and we looked like that today, and it was that power that won us the game.
"I thought Andros was sensational, he's been threatening to do that and I hope Big Sam [Allardyce, England manager] was watching because he was outstanding.
"I thought it was a solid performance, it was a shame they scored because they didn't deserve that."
Stoke boss Mark Hughes: "The start didn't help our situation, it has been happening in almost every game. We're too open and teams capitalise on that. We are not giving ourselves a chance to win Premier League games.
"It's key we stay in games - at the moment we are just chasing games too much.
"This is not the start we expected, it's a case of getting together and what we are doing, the game plan needs to be at a better level. The dressing room is full of good talent, but that talent needs to ally it to sensible play, which we're not doing."
The stats you need to know
- For the first time since December 2015, Crystal Palace recorded successive Premier League victories.
- The Potters have picked up just one point from their opening five league games - their worst start in nine Premier League seasons since promotion in 2008.
- Since the start of last season, Crystal Palace (12) have scored more Premier League goals via defenders than any other side.
- Stoke have only netted eight goals in their last 11 Premier League games, scoring more than once on just one occasion.
- Scott Dann has scored seven league goals since the start of the 2015-16 season, two more than any other Palace player and two more than any other Premier League defender.
- Stoke have conceded four goals in six of their last 11 Premier League games.
What's next?
Palace face a trip to Southampton in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, while Stoke also have Premier League opposition in the Cup, hosting Hull.
The Eagles are back on the road on Saturday with a visit to Sunderland and Stoke will be looking for a first three points against West Brom at the Britannia on the same day.
Line-ups
Crystal Palace
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 30Mandanda
- 2Ward
- 6Dann
- 5TomkinsSubstituted forDelaneyat 45'minutes
- 34Kelly
- 16LedleySubstituted forFlaminiat 78'minutes
- 18McArthurBooked at 60mins
- 11Zaha
- 42PuncheonBooked at 77mins
- 10TownsendSubstituted forLeeat 85'minutes
- 17Benteke
Substitutes
- 4Flamini
- 13Hennessey
- 14Lee
- 19Fryers
- 21Wickham
- 26Sako
- 27Delaney
Stoke
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 24Given
- 8Johnson
- 17Shawcross
- 20Cameron
- 15Martins Indi
- 6Whelan
- 4Allen
- 19Walters
- 27BojanSubstituted forDioufat 68'minutes
- 10ArnautovicBooked at 71mins
- 12Bony
Substitutes
- 2Bardsley
- 3Pieters
- 16Adam
- 18Diouf
- 21Imbula
- 25Crouch
- 33Grant
- Referee:
- Craig Pawson
- Attendance:
- 23,781
Match Stats
Home TeamCrystal PalaceAway TeamStoke
- Possession
- Home57%
- Away43%
- Shots
- Home14
- Away11
- Shots on Target
- Home8
- Away4
- Corners
- Home10
- Away5
- Fouls
- Home15
- Away9
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Crystal Palace 4, Stoke City 1.
Goal!
Goal! Crystal Palace 4, Stoke City 1. Marko Arnautovic (Stoke City) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner.
Post update
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Geoff Cameron.
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Attempt blocked. Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Mathieu Flamini.
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Attempt missed. Jonathan Walters (Stoke City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Joe Allen with a through ball.
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Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Glenn Whelan (Stoke City).
Substitution
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Lee Chung-yong replaces Andros Townsend.
Post update
Foul by Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace).
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Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt saved. Wilfried Bony (Stoke City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Glen Johnson.
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Attempt missed. Wilfried Bony (Stoke City) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is too high.
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Attempt missed. Mame Biram Diouf (Stoke City) header from very close range is too high. Assisted by Joe Allen with a cross following a corner.
Post update
Corner, Stoke City. Conceded by Martin Kelly.
Substitution
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Mathieu Flamini replaces Joe Ledley.
Booking
Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Foul by Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace).
Post update
Marko Arnautovic (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Goal!
Goal! Crystal Palace 4, Stoke City 0. Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Martin Kelly.
