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Crystal Palace shared the spoils against rivals Brighton as star man Wilfried Zaha’s thunderous effort snatched a point at Selhurst Park in the Premier League on Monday night.

For large spells of the game, even Palace boss Roy Hodgson would have admitted the hosts were second best, but then Zaha intervened, twisting Montoya before smashing the ball beyond Mat Ryan in the Brighton goal.

Up until Zaha’s sumptuous strike, ​Brighton had dominated from the start of the game, but only gained the initiative in the second half.

For all their possession, they were unable to create anything meaningful, that was until Pascal Gross picked out Neal Maupay who fired into the roof of the net to put Graham Potter’s side 1-0 up.

Before Zaha stepped up, Palace’s only chance of note had been a fortunate incident which almost led to Christian Benteke putting them into the lead. The Belgian striker almost caught out Mat Ryan in the Brighton goal, as his speculative cross-cum-shot crashed the bar with the keeper grasping for thin air. 

However, despite the Seagulls’ impressive away performance, they were left hanging on after the Eagles found a renewed impetus after the equaliser.

However, Potter’s men held out and left Selhurst Park with a well-earned point, in what was  Hodgson’s 100th game in charge of ​Palace.

Here’s 90min’s breakdown of this one…

Crystal Palace

Key Talking Point​

All the talk in recent weeks has circulated around Palace star Wilfried Zaha, his importance to the club, his influence and also his slightly disappointing form this season.

For 75 minutes on Monday night, Zaha failed to live up to the hype in what has been a low-key season for the Ivory Coast international – a season which may be his last as an Eagles player.

However, then one moment of brilliance changed the game.

The Eagles had sputtered and stalled for the majority of the game but then stepped forward Zaha, who twisted and turned Montoya before firing a ferocious drive past Ryan in the Brighton goal.

Devoid of any quality for large parts of the game, without a shot on target until the 70th minute and then Zaha’s stardust turned the game on its head.

Player Ratings

Starting XI: Guaita (5), Kelly (6), Tomkins (6), Dann (6), Riedewald (5), Kouyaté (5), Milivojevic (6), McArthur( 5), J Ayew (6), Benteke (5) Zaha (7)

Substitutes​: McCarthy (6), Meyer (6)

STAR PLAYER​: Wilfried Zaha

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Big players, produce big moments. The 26-year-old had endured a frustrating night until he unleashed a fearsome strike which dragged the below-par Eagles level.

An incredibly quiet game by his standards up until his blockbuster strike which earned the home side a point and shows Palace’s heavy reliance on their star winger.

They will be big boots to fill if the Ivorian is to make the move across London to Stamford Bridge, without Zaha’s spark and creativity, you really do fear for Hodgson’s men.

​Brighton

Key Talking Point:

What else but VAR? Another game, another video assistant referee controversy. ​Perhaps it was the lack of reaction by Montoya as he was clipped in the box, the fact that the Spaniard chose not to protest, whatever it was, it looked a penalty.

The full-back latched onto Propper’s pass and as he went to pull the trigger, it appeared that Riedewald caught his foot but after a short delay, the appeal was waved away.

By no means was it a stonewall award, but given some of the penalties awarded this season, it was very surprising to see the referee not point to the spot.

Player Ratings:

Starting XI: Ryan (6), Montoya (6), Webster (7), Dunk (7), Burn (7), Propper (7), Bissouma (7), Gross (6), Mooy (7), Maupay (7), Trossard (7)

Substitutes: Alzate (6), Bernardo (N/A)

STAR PLAYER: Neal Maupay

Three games, three goals, given the severe lack of goal threat at the other end of the park, Maupay’s brilliant finish early in the second half highlighted the need for a natural-born predator.

​It was a lovely cultured finish into the roof of the net that put the Seagull’s into a 1-0 lead, it was practically his first chance of the game but he showed the composure of a striker in top form. 

It wasn’t just his poaching instincts that caught the eye, his work rate was something to behold, especially compared to his counterpart, Benteke, in the Palace ranks.

The Belgian could learn a thing or two from Maupay’s work off the ball.

Looking Ahead

Roy Hodgson takes his side to St James’ Park to face ​Newcastle on Saturday in a game which promises to be a close encounter as only one point splits the sides in the table.

As for Brighton, they have the task of stopping surprise package ​Sheffield United when they entertain Chris Wilder’s men on Saturday.

​As the year, and indeed the decade, draws to a close, it can only mean one thing. It’s award season. 

On Monday, football’s very own Raheem Sterling was announced as ​a nominee for the famous BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, after transforming himself into one of the world’s best on the pitch and a fantastic role model off it. From rising above racist abuse in domestic and foreign lands to shunning internet ‘trolls’, Sterling has proved to be an inspiration for the next generation.

However, history will tell you that a footballer winning the BBC award is rare. This time around it’ll be incredibly tough for the Manchester City man to become just the sixth footballer in history to win the honour, especially when you look at what the likes of Ben Stokes and Lewis Hamilton have accomplished this year.

Nevertheless, as Sterling looks to better England teammate Harry Kane – who finished in third-place last year – let’s take a look at the five footballers who’ve actually won BBC Sports Personality of the Year since the award’s inception in 1954.

Bobby Moore (1966)

1966 wasn’t a bad year for English football with the Three Lions securing their first – and only -FIFA World Cup after beating West Germany 4-2 (A.E.T) in the final.

While Sir Geoff Hurst – who finished third in that year’s award – was the hero on the 30 July, it was Bobby Moore who was the figurehead and captain in Alf Ramsey’s side. The iconic image of Moore hoisting the Jules Rimet trophy at Wembley is one that has not only gone down in British sporting history but British history generally.

The legacy left by Moore is unlike most and in a poll conducted by the RadioTimes, the icon was voted the greatest SPOTY winner of all time. Hero.

Paul Gascoigne (1990)

While George Best, Gordan Banks and Kevin Keegan came close in the 70s and 80s, football had to wait 24 years until they saw another SPOTY victor.

And with British football in tatters, especially English, it looked unlikely for there to be an imminent winner come the start of the 1990s… But then came Italia ’90.

In a tournament that wasn’t meant to go right for the Three Lions, everything (almost everything) did, as England’s heroic journey to the semi-finals enthralled an unexpecting nation.

And despite David Platt’s improvisation, Gary Lineker’s clutch gene and Sir Bobby’s charisma, it was the Geordie in the middle of the park that stole everybody’s hearts. Blessed with immense footballing talent and a charismatic personality, Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne was undoubtedly the man who had the greatest influence on that England side.

The tournament would quite literally end in tears for Gazza after a heart-wrenching penalty shootout defeat to Germany in the semi’s, but nonetheless, Gascoigne’s displays in those six games went a long way in making England fans believe in the Three Lions again.

Michael Owen (1998)

A shorter wait this time around as eight years after Gascoigne, teenage sensation Michael Owen would get his hands on the award.

While his commentary and punditry in later life don’t exactly scream ‘personality’, Owen’s display at the 1998 World Cup in France made him a worthy winner of the award in 1998.

After bursting onto the Premier League scene in the 1997/98 season with Liverpool, the then 18-year-old was announced in Glenn Hoddle’s England squad for the upcoming tournament in the summer.

Impressive performances in the group stages – where he became England’s youngest goalscorer in the World Cup – saw him start in their round of 16 clash with Argentina.

While penalties proved to be England’s undoing once more, Owen scored one of the greatest solo goals the tournament has ever seen. It was a finish that went a long way in the teenager being voted as the SPOTY and later, Owen described the goal as ‘life-changing’, finishing his career as a Ballon d’Or winner and one of the finest natural strikers this country has ever seen.

David Beckham (2001)

If Owen was the ‘hero’ of the 1998 campaign, then David Beckham was the villain.

More than that, Beckham became public enemy number one after a moment of petulance saw the then-24-year-old sent off in that game against Argentina.

However, impressive displays for his club side Manchester United saw him win over the fans again before, in October 2001, Beckham completed his redemption arc from villain to outright saviour.

With Sven Goran Eriksson’s England trailing Greece 2-1 in a qualifier for the World Cup in the Pacific the following summer, a tricky playoff fixture against Ukraine looked likely for the Three Lions. Not on Becks’ watch (likely a Rolex).

In the dying embers of added time, Teddy Sheringham won England a free-kick in a central position, just shy of 30 yards out. With the weight of a nation on his shoulders, Beckham – who had played like a man possessed all game – then proceeded to unleash an unstoppable right-footed strike past an unmoved Antonios Nikopolidis in the Greek net to send England to the World Cup.

That incredible moment was enough to see Beckham bring home the award in 2001.

Ryan Giggs (2009)

The final winner from the world of football was undoubtedly the biggest surprise of them all as Ryan Giggs beat Formula One’s Jenson Button to the 2009 award.

While Giggs’ superior fan-base over the likes of Button and emerging heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill certainly contributed to the Welshman’s victory, Giggs was recognised for playing a role in United’s 11th Premier League title after winning the PFA Player of the Year in April.