Crystal Palace prevailed over West Ham by 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller to surpass the 40-point mark set by manager Roy Hodgson and put the Hammers in danger of relegation.
Since taking over management of Palace again last month, the former England manager Hodgson has guided the Eagles to four victories in six games, putting them 11 points clear of the bottom three and almost surely on their way to safety.
Due to a problem with the turnstiles, kickoff in south London was delayed by 15 minutes; nonetheless, once the game began, there was no lack of action.
Although Tomas Soucek gave West Ham an early advantage for failing to clear a corner, Michael Olise, Palace turned the game in their favor with three goals in an impressive 15-minute span.
Within six minutes, Wilfried Zaha scored off an assist from Eberechi Eze’s pass across the six-yard box, and Jeffrey Schlupp added a third after dispossessing Soucek. Jordan Ayew then equalized with a first-time goal at the end of a smooth play.
When West Ham once more took advantage of a corner, Michail Antonio headed in at the back post to cut the deficit before halftime, adding another twist to an excellent first half.
Nayef Aguerd was found to have fouled Eze in the penalty area midway through the second half, restoring Palace’s two-goal lead. However, the Hammers defender made amends when the visitors recovered with a shaky third goal from yet another set-piece.
However, David Moyes’ team was unable to score a late equalizer to improve their chances of surviving, and West Ham Remain five points above the drop with five games to go.
Meanwhile, Brighton have reignited their bid for a spot in Europe next season by achieving their largest-ever top-flight win against a hapless Wolves side.
Despite remaining in eighth place in the Premier League table, Brighton are now only one point behind seventh-placed Liverpool and two points behind Tottenham in fifth, who have played two more matches than Roberto de Zerbi’s team.
The scoring was opened by Deniz Undav, who netted his first-ever Premier League goal, before Pascal Gross doubled the lead with a simple finish after Julio Enciso’s impressive run and pass.
Gross then added a second goal in superb fashion, controlling Enciso’s square ball before unleashing a swerving shot into the corner of the net past Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa.
Danny Welbeck then made it 4-0 just before half-time with a close-range header from Pervis Estupinan’s cross.
The former Manchester United and Arsenal striker then added his second goal early in the second half, capitalizing on Nathan Collins’ misplaced pass.
Undav added the last goal with yet another outstanding performance, dispossessing Matheus Nunes on the edge of the box and chipping Sa with a superbly weighted shot.
The manner of Wolves’s defeat on the south coast will scare manager Julen Lopetegui, even though his team is still eight points clear of the relegation zone.
The final game of the day saw Brentford come from a goal down to defeat Nottingham Forrest by 2-1