An 11-minute hat-trick from Yannick Bolasie was enough to blow Sunderland away this afternoon, as Crystal Palace ran out 4-1 winners at the Stadium of Light.
After a goalless first period, Palace demolished the Black Cats after the break, with Glenn Murray opening the scoring just a minute into the half.
Bolasie then added his three, linking well with Murray for two of them to leave Dick Advocaat's side reeling.
Connor Wickham added a last-minute consolation for the hosts, who are now sucked right back into the relegation scrap.
Match statistics
Sunderland
Shots:12
On target: 3
Possession: 54%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 15
Crystal Palace
Shots: 14
On target: 5
Possession: 46%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 17
Was the result fair?
It's very hard to argue against a team that storm into a four-goal lead. 0-0 was a fair scoreline at half time, but after the break Crystal Palace had too much for their opponents. Though the hosts began the game well, they failed to create enough from midfield and struggled from there on out. The Eagles had the difference makers that Sunderland lacked, and a comfortable win was what their performance deserved.
Sunderland's performance
For 45 minutes, Sunderland did ok, containing Palace and foraying into opposition territory often. However, as stated, Advocaat's team did not create enough in attacking areas, with the triple-pronged frontline of Wickham, Jermaine Defoe and Steven Fletcher failing to work. Defensively, the back four were all at sea, with long-balls causing so many problems. Palace simply had to launch a long effort forwards, knowing full well that Bolasie and Murray would cause confusion amongst the defence. An extremely poor afternoon.
Crystal Palace's performance
While they probably shaded the opening half, Palace completely bossed things after the interval. The linking up of Bolasie and Murray was a joy to watch, and they're both looking as if they're at the top of their games right now. Aside from those two being the obvious stars, Scott Dann was impressive at the back, making one superb interception to keep the score goalless. Wilfried Zaha was also an attacking danger, while Mile Jedinak's return gave the midfield even more presence.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Yannick Boalsie: There is no denying the star of the show today, and that was the scorer of the hat-trick that sealed the win. Even the first goal, which Murray scored, was supplied by Bolasie's cross. His goals were good, with the second one being the pick of the bunch. As Costel Pantilimon came out to meet him, the Congolese winger elegantly lifted the ball over him and into the corner. An excellent afternoon's work.
Biggest gaffe
This award goes to the Sunderland defence as a unit for their failure to deal with long-balls for the whole of the duration of the second period. Once Palace had success with a route one ball once, they tried it time and again, with each of their goals coming from moves starting with a ball out of defence. Advocaat will be having nightmares about the performance all weekend.
Referee performance
Anthony Taylor was the ref today, and he had an okay game but nothing more. In truth, he should have probably sent Jack Rodwell off after 15 minutes for a poor tackle on James McArthur. Other than that, Taylor had few other decisions to make.
What next?
Sunderland: Due to the FA Cup commitments of Arsenal, Sunderland must wait two weeks to put this one right in their next game - a trip to Stoke City on April 25.
Crystal Palace: Palace resume action next weekend when they invite West Brom to Selhurst Park. Should they win, it'll be five on the bounce for Alan Pardew's men.
Joe McPhee
