Crystal Palace made a bright start in pursuit of their first home victory since October as Eze gave Southampton an early fright, taking aim when left unmarked on the edge of the area only for Aaron Ramsdale to thwart his powerful effort.
Despite having control in the opening 15 minutes, Palace were undone by Kyle Walker-Peters’ mazy run into the area as the full-back raced past Daniel Muñoz and picked out Adam Armstong, who set up 18-year-old Tyler Dibling to fire in his second-ever PL goal.
The Saints couldn’t generate momentum after notching their first away goal in December and Palace levelled on the half-hour mark as Will Hughes’ inswinging corner was met by Trevoh Chalobah’s glancing header past Ramsdale.
Suddenly, the Eagles were in full swing and they created a succession of chances. Ismaïla Sarr was first denied by a strong Ramsdale save after going one-on-one with the Southampton goalkeeper before Jan Bednarek’s last-ditch prevented Muñoz’s goal-bound shot from hitting the net to keep the scores level at HT.
The break did little to deter Palace and Eze fired the Eagles into the lead minutes after the restart, reacting first to a loose ball from 20 yards out and unleashing a first-time volley into the bottom corner for his fourth career goal against Southampton.
Oliver Glasner’s side kept probing for a decisive third but were almost pegged back by Mateus Fernandes’ fierce strike that required a fingertip save from Dean Henderson. However, the Saints struggled to contain Palace and Eze almost added to his tally when his deflected free-kick beat Ramsdale and skimmed the Southampton crossbar.
Despite going behind, Palace were rarely in trouble here and Eze’s stunning first league goal since early September gives the South London outfit a six-point buffer from the PL’s bottom three.
There’s been no new manager bounce for Ivan Jurić and Southampton as the new boss has overseen back-to-back defeats in his first two in charge, leaving the Saints nine points adrift at the foot of the table.