BRIGHTON — Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage said he felt "shame" after Brighton thrashed the Eagles 5-0 and admitted he does not know whether he will be given time to save his job. Sage's side conceded three times inside the opening 10 minutes to suffer their worst loss to their 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 Frenchman Sage, 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." When asked if he will get time to turn Palace's poor form around, he replied: "I don't know."
Under his predecessor Oliver Glasner, Palace enjoyed the most successful phase in the club's history, lifting the FA Cup for the first time in 2025 and then winning the Conference League in May. Sage arrived at Selhurst Park after guiding Lens to the French Cup and second in Ligue 1 last season but has endured a tough start. Palace are 14th in the Premier League with two wins from seven games and their 17 goals conceded are the most in the top flight. Palace have won four, drawn one and lost five of Sage's 10 games in charge in all competitions.
"I just want to apologise to the fans," Sage added. "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 on his emotions after the game, he replied: "Only one feeling - shame. When you play this kind of game you have to show another face. It was our worst face." Palace, who have one win and one loss from their two Europa League matches, travel to Turkey to face Besiktas on Thursday before returning to Premier League action at home to Newcastle on Sunday.