Crystal Palace 2-3 Ipswich: Flemming wins it in the 90th

Crystal Palace 2-3 Ipswich Town was decided in the ninetieth minute, which is becoming the only minute Ipswich need. Zian Flemming scored the winner at Selhurst Park on Saturday from very close range, moments after Leif Davis had headed against the bar, and it settled a match in which Palace led, went down to ten men, fell behind and came back to 2-2 before losing it.

It is Ipswich’s second league win of the season, and both have come in the ninetieth minute. On the opening weekend Jack Clarke scored the winner against Sunderland at that exact point of the match. Six points from four matches is a respectable return for a promoted club, and it has been built on very late goals.

Palace lead, then lose Disasi

Palace scored first. On fourteen minutes Daichi Kamada set up Anan Khalaili, who finished right-footed from the right side of the box into the bottom left corner. Four minutes later Kjell Scherpen had to save from Jørgen Strand Larsen to stop it becoming two.

Ipswich were level on twenty-three minutes. Davis crossed and Emersonn headed in from the centre of the box, into the top left corner. It was Emersonn’s second league goal of the season, both of them scored inside the first half-hour of a match.

On thirty-four minutes Axel Disasi was shown a straight red card, and Palace had to play the rest of the match, including stoppage time, with ten men. Palace reorganised quickly: Takehiro Tomiyasu came on for Yéremy Pino three minutes later.

Davis puts Ipswich ahead, Palace respond

Ipswich took the lead just before half-time, and the goal reversed the first one. This time Emersonn provided and Davis finished, a header from very close range into the bottom right corner on forty-five minutes. Davis, who started at left-back, now has two league goals this season, having also scored at Old Trafford.

Palace did not fold. Walter Benítez saved from Clarke ten minutes into the second half, and on seventy-four minutes Quinten Timber had a shot saved by Scherpen. A minute later Palace were level: Kamada again, this time finding Strand Larsen on the right side of the box, and his right-footed shot went into the bottom left corner. Two assists for Kamada, and with ten men Palace had turned 1-2 into 2-2.

• Anan Khalaili (Crystal Palace), 14 minutes: assisted by Daichi Kamada
• Emersonn (Ipswich Town), 23 minutes: header, assisted by Leif Davis
• Axel Disasi (Crystal Palace), 34 minutes: red card
• Leif Davis (Ipswich Town), 45 minutes: header, assisted by Emersonn
• Jørgen Strand Larsen (Crystal Palace), 75 minutes: assisted by Daichi Kamada
• Zian Flemming (Ipswich Town), 90 minutes: from very close range

The ninetieth minute, again

Ipswich had changed things on the hour. Emersonn went off injured on sixty-three minutes and Flemming replaced him; Jaden Philogene had come on a minute earlier, Daizen Maeda came on at the same time, and Florentino later replaced Sasa Lukic. Philogene forced a save from Benítez on eighty-two minutes.

The winner arrived in the ninetieth. Julio Enciso set up Davis, whose header from the centre of the box hit the bar, and in the same minute Flemming scored right-footed from very close range into the bottom left corner. Two minutes into stoppage time Benítez saved another Flemming shot from outside the box, and Palace had nothing left.

The statistics show a closer match than a red card usually allows. Ipswich had 53.5% of the ball, twelve shots and six on target; Palace had eleven and four. Ipswich also committed sixteen fouls to Palace’s six and picked up three yellow cards, for Clarke, Abdul Fatawu and Lukic.

Two clubs heading in opposite directions

Ipswich are tenth with six points. Their season so far reads: a 2-1 win over Sunderland with a ninetieth-minute winner, a 5-2 defeat at Manchester United, a 2-0 home defeat by Liverpool and this. Two wins, two defeats, and a goal difference of minus three that reflects the heavy afternoon at Old Trafford more than anything since.

Palace are sixteenth with three points, and they have conceded eleven goals in four league matches, more than anyone else in the division. They lost 2-0 at Everton, 4-1 at home to Manchester City, won 3-2 at Fulham and have now lost 3-2 at home. Ipswich, meanwhile, host Arsenal in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday.

Simulate the rest of the Premier League season

Ipswich have won twice in the league and both times in the ninetieth minute, which is not a method anyone would recommend. On the Premier League simulator you can play the season forward from the real table, or rerun this match through the AI simulator and see how often ten-man Palace hold on to 2-2.

• Play the remaining 34 rounds from the real table and the real fixture list
• Simulate this week’s Carabao Cup third-round ties, including Ipswich Town against Arsenal
• Run any fixture through the AI match simulator, in tactical view or in the physics arena
• Open the line-up builder for both clubs before you kick off a simulation
• Turn an arena simulation into a vertical video ready to share

"Ipswich have two league wins this season. Both were settled in the ninetieth minute."