Pierre Sage says 'shame' as Brighton thrash Crystal Palace 5-0
Brighton put five past Palace as Sage's nightmare start continues
Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage admitted he felt "shame" after watching his side suffer a humiliating 5-0 defeat to Brighton – and confessed he does not know whether he will be given time to turn things around at Selhurst Park.
The Eagles conceded three times inside the opening 10 minutes at the Amex as they suffered their heaviest loss to their Sussex rivals since January 1956.
"It's my fault because I am the coach, I gave the motivation. I prepare the situations. We played so bad it's my fault," said the Frenchman, who was only appointed Palace manager in the summer.
"It's difficult to summarise because there are a lot of negative points. We started really bad. It's completely not normal to concede three goals in this kind of game after nine minutes.
"I prepare the team, that is why I am responsible of what's happened on the pitch. I have a lot of work to do because I have to change this kind of thing."
Asked if he would be handed the time to arrest Palace's poor form, Sage replied bluntly: "I don't know."
Apology to the supporters
Sage, who arrived after guiding Lens to the French Cup and a second-placed Ligue 1 finish last season, offered a direct apology to the travelling supporters.
"I just want to apologise to the fans," he said. "We were not at the level we expected, and I'm really sorry for that because I know how important it is for them, but we didn't show today that it's really important for us too."
Asked about his emotions afterwards, he added: "Only one feeling – shame. When you play this kind of game you have to show another face. It was our worst face."
The weight of expectation
Sage is attempting to fill the considerable void left by predecessor Oliver Glasner, under whom Palace enjoyed the most successful period in the club's history. Glasner lifted the FA Cup for the first time in 2025 and then won the Conference League in May.
But the start of the campaign has been turbulent. Palace sit 14th in the Premier League with just two wins from seven games, and their 17 goals conceded are the most in the top flight.
The Europa League had offered brief respite. Captain Dean Henderson had asked supporters to "park the negativity" after signing a contract extension, and a 2026-09-17 win over Lech Poznan in Palace's European debut lifted the mood. However, a 3-2 defeat at Lyon on 2026-10-16 – in which Corentin Tolisso and Ernest Nuamah put the French side 2-0 up before Yeremy Pino and Daichi Kamada replied, only for Pavel Sulc to score a 76th-minute winner – showed the scale of the task facing Sage.
Palace have won four, drawn one and lost five of Sage's 10 games in charge. They now turn their attention to Europe again, travelling to Turkey to face Besiktas on Thursday before returning to Premier League action at home to Newcastle on Sunday.
"I have a lot of work to do," Sage said. The coming days will determine whether he is given the chance to do it.