Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner spoke of his delight in ensuring Crystal Palace backed up their tag as pre-match favourites with a 2-1 win over Southampton.

Saints hit the front with the first goal of the Ivan Juric era in the 14th minute when Tyler Dibling netted past Dean Henderson after excellent work from Kyle Walker-Peters. 

But Palace restored parity through Trevoh Chalobah's controversial header, with Southampton believing that goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was impeded. 

Eberechi Eze's goal seven minutes after the restart sealed the win for the Eagles, with their fourth victory of the season moving them up to 15th in the Premier League table. 

Since losing three Premier League games in a row against Everton, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, Palace have now lost just two of their last 11 (W4 D5).

Following a tricky few months after a stellar start at Selhurst Park, Glasner was pleased to end 2024 on a high. 

"I'm very pleased", Glasner told Premier League Productions. "Everybody expected us against the bottom team at home, but these games are often the most difficult ones."

Glasner also had his say on Chalobah's equaliser, suggesting that if his goal had been disallowed, then many goals scored this season would have also been chalked off.

"All over Europe yes, but not in England. This is the Premier League. We were told about this at the start of the season and what I like is that it's always the same line," he said.

"If this goal would have been disallowed then many goals from many other teams would have been disallowed.

"Everybody uses the rules to the very edge. This is what we are doing, this is what Arsenal are doing, everybody is doing."

For Southampton, meanwhile, they end the year bottom of the Premier League, having picked up just six points from their first 19 games of the season so far. 

Only Sunderland in 2005-06 (six) and Sheffield United in 2020-21 (five) have had as few as six points at the halfway stage of a Premier League campaign. 

They have also now gone 17 consecutive away top-flight games without a win for just the second time in their history, after a 19-game winless run between March 1985 and February 1986.

Juric, who has yet to win a game since taking over from Russell Martin, praised his players for their fighting spirit during a difficult, yet transitional, period at St. Mary's. 

"Against West Ham we did really, really good. " Today we did something good and there were some things we could do better," Juric said. 

"We have players who can compete. We are competing, and we have to be much better in the details.

"They are fighting every game. We have to believe there is no other option."

Juric, unsurprisingly, had an opposing view to Glasner when asked about the awarding of Chalobah's goal, telling BBC Sport: "I think the first goal for me is a foul.

"This goal changes the situation, and it's the second goal we have conceded from set-pieces.

"Yes [it was a foul on Aaron Ramsdale] it's really difficult for Ramsdale to do something if he has a player pushing him. I don't know what is in the rules, but for me it is a foul."