Brighton crushed M23 Derby rivals Crystal Palace to maintain their excellent form and heap more pressure on Eagles boss Pierre Sage.

The hosts, who moved up to second in the Premier League table for a few hours at least, were 3-0 up inside 10 minutes as Palace were blown away.

Jaydee Canvot’s own goal started the rout with a wonder goal from Diego Gomez and another strike from Yasin Ayari putting Brighton in complete control.

Charalampos Kostoulas made it 4-0 early in the second half and the bulk of a very unhappy away end were already making their way back to London by the time Jack Hinshelwood netted a fifth with six minutes to go.

The only positive on a dismal afternoon for Palace was the return of striker Jean-Philippe Mateta following a two-month injury lay-off.

Brighton’s early burst grounds Eagles

The visitors enjoyed their win over former boss Oliver Glasner and Nottingham Forest last weekend but suffered a defeat at Lyon in the Europa League in midweek. They encountered a boisterous Amex crowd on the south coast and could not get a foothold in the game.

Only four minutes had elapsed when Pascal Gross whipped in a free-kick from the left and Canvot rose to glance a header into his own net.

Brighton went for the kill and Gomez scored a stunning second three minutes later, picking up the ball just inside the Palace half and drilling an incredible shot over Palace goalkeeper Walter Benitez.

The visitors were rocking and the contest was effectively finished when Kostoulas’ backheel played in Ayari and he fired into the net.

Kostoulas got his name on the scoresheet after 49 minutes, capitalising on a lucky ricochet to fire in and Hinshelwood scored from close range late on after Benitez had saved Luka Vuskovic’s header.

Mateta hit the bar for Palace and Jefferson Lerma fired on to the post but it was a dismal afternoon for Sage, who will know he needs a good result against Newcastle next weekend.