Burnley stunned Crystal Palace with a 3-2 comeback at Selhurst Park, overturning a two-goal deficit before half-time and ending a 16-match Premier League winless run. Palace created many chances but failed to score after the early lead, and Oliver Glasner highlighted a lack of on-pitch leadership as a key factor in the collapse.
Palace, who sold captain Marc Guehi to Manchester City last month, have now gone eight home league matches without a victory, undermining momentum from a vital recent success at Brighton. Burnley, by contrast, have cut the gap to safety to nine points after a run that had included several heavy defeats and poor displays.
The visitors achieved a rare Premier League feat. Burnley became the first side since Hull City against
West Ham in November 2009 to trail 2-0 in the first half of a league game yet still lead at the interval. They are also only the second club to do so in a top-flight away fixture, after Tottenham at Newcastle United in 1995.
5 - Burnley are the first team to go 2-0 behind in the first half a Premier League game but still lead by half-time since Hull City against West Ham in November 2009. Traffic. pic.twitter.com/VhjS5WZb6pOptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 11, 2026
Crystal Palace appeared fully in control during the opening half hour. New signing Jorgen Strand Larsen struck twice inside 33 minutes, giving the hosts a 2-0 advantage and putting Burnley under major pressure. However, Hannibal Mejbri and Jaidon Anthony both scored before a Jefferson Lerma own goal completed a dramatic seven-minute turnaround before the break.
Palace dominated many attacking metrics yet could not recover. Glasner’s side produced 21 attempts compared with eight for Burnley, but only three efforts troubled goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. The final chance came in the fifth minute of stoppage time, when Dubravka made a superb save to deny Ismaila Sarr and secure Scott Parker’s important away win.
Glasner struggled to describe how such a strong start collapsed so quickly in his 100th game as Palace manager. "I can't explain it, we gave the game away too easy," said Glasner to TNT Sports. "Maybe it was too easy. There was a lack of intensity and we didn't defend well. We are not showing a consistent performance over 95 minutes very often. Once it's this [reason], once it's thatand you get punished. The start was good, scoring very nice goals. We controlled everything. But I've watched all the goals back, and it's just not acceptable how we defended as a teamjust jogging around, not in the duels, not in the second balls. In the second half we tried everything, but we don't deserve to win. When you throw the game away like we did, you don't deserve to win. "
Glasner stressed that the issue is not effort across the season but what happens in key periods. "I praise the boys very often for their effort. We had a great effort three days ago at Brighton, so it's not about the character [of the players], I just don't know the reason [for the performance], the players usually work hard. It is not acceptable. Right now, we don't have someone on the pitch who leads the team in these moments, who makes the players calm and decides about the meaning of the gamethat's why we lost. "
The result further damaged Palace’s home form and left the crowd frustrated after Strand Larsen’s early impact. It also threw fresh focus on the absence of Guehi, who had been a key defensive figure before joining Manchester City. For Burnley, the victory offered renewed belief after a sequence of "dreadful" displays, as described in recent assessments of their form.
Parker praised Burnley’s mentality and the way the squad handled a demanding schedule. "I'm happy with the team and, of course, with the result," said Parker, referencing the taxing weekend defeat to West Ham. "In the situation we are in, coming off the back of an incredibly tough game for us [against West Ham] at the weekendfor many reasonsthat performance showed a group thats full of resilience, full of commitment. All the staff, the players, deserve that. You don't get that result without proper resilience, standing up to certain battles and certain situations. I said before the game let's not worry about where we've been in the pastlet's look at the present.Can a group of men come to Selhurst Park and win a game of football against Crystal Palace? Every single player believed, and I think that was evident. There aren't many teams who would come back after going 2-0 down. It speaks absolute volumes for this group. If there was ever a question of how together this group isit said it all really. "
The match left Palace reflecting on wasted dominance and fragile game management, while Burnley gained fresh hope despite still sitting in the relegation places. Glasner’s comments highlighted the need for stronger in-game direction within a squad adapting after key departures. Parker’s side, meanwhile, showed resilience that may yet keep the survival fight alive over the remaining fixtures.
