Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a second-half hat-trick, including an equaliser in stoppage time from the penalty spot, to help Crystal Palace snatch a point in an enthralling 3-3 draw with AFC Bournemouth.
Ryan Christie’s late goal looked to have sent Andoni Iraola’s side to second spot, but after Marc Guehi was fouled by Bafode Diakite inside the penalty area, Mateta kept his cool from 12 yards to seal a share of the spoils.
Bournemouth entered the break two goals to the good thanks to a brace from Eli Kroupi, but Mateta’s quickfire double saw parity restored at Selhurst Park with 20 minutes left.
And Christie thought he had won it in the 89th minute, only for Mateta, who scored on his France debut earlier in the week, sending Djordje Petrovic the wrong way from the spot.
The result leaves Bournemouth in fourth on 15 points, with Palace two points behind them in eighth.
How the match unfolded
Bournemouth got themselves ahead in the seventh minute when Mateta inadvertently glanced Justin Kluivert’s corner to the back post for Kroupi to nod home.
Palace still offered a threat and should have drawn level when Mateta headed narrowly wide from Yeremy Pino’s teasing delivery, and the Cherries made the most of that reprieve seven minutes before the break.
Antoine Semenyo’s driving run ended with a cross into the box that was half cleared by Guehi, with the ball landing at the feet of Kroupi, who finished first time.
Marcos Senesi survived a scare early in the second half after his yellow card for a foul on Ismaila Sarr was subject to a VAR review for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity, but the on-field decision stood.
Palace reduced the deficit when Mateta planted Daniel Munoz’s cross home in the 64th minute, with the forward doubling his tally five minutes later with a sliding finish at the back post.
But the Cherries roared back and thought they had won it when Marcus Tavernier’s cross was tucked home by Christie, but following a clumsy foul on Guehi inside the box by Diakite, Mateta made no mistake to complete his hat-trick and a remarkable comeback.
Magnificent Mateta helps Eagles roar back
Palace’s club record 19-match unbeaten run was undone just before the international break as they lost 2-1 to Everton late on, despite going a goal in front and dominating the match at times.
They remained unchanged for the visit of Bournemouth but struggled to get going in the early stages, with the visitors pressing the home side at any given opportunity and limiting them to few chances in the opening minutes.
They began to settle down, however, with Adam Wharton showing composure in the middle of the park while the dangerous Pino began to threaten on Palace’s left side, creating their best opportunity of the half with a sweeping cross to find Mateta.
A rare error from captain Guehi contributed to the home side conceding another before the half-time whistle, and they were in danger of losing a second Premier League match in a row.
But a thrilling second-half performance saw them get back on level terms on two separate occasions, with Mateta finding his scoring touch to great effect as he registered his first league goals in front of the Selhurst Park faithful this season.
They showed a wonderful fighting spirit, a key feature under Oliver Glasner since his appointment, which was epitomised by Mateta’s late heroics, but their attention will now turn to the UEFA Conference League as they host AEK Larnaca on Thursday.
Iraola’s high-flyers have their wings clipped
Bournemouth’s best start to a top-flight campaign continued before the international break, as they came from a goal down in the second half to defeat Fulham 3-1 at a rain-soaked Vitality Stadium.
Iraola made three changes at Selhurst Park, but it did little to disrupt the Cherries’ rhythm as they made yet another fast start, going ahead with their first goal from a corner this season as Kroupi arrived at the right time to head home.
Semenyo, who went close early on with a well-struck effort, proved integral for the second goal as his run and cross led to Kroupi once again finding the net with a smart finish on the volley.
The young Frenchman, who scored 22 goals in Ligue 2 for Lorient last season, led the line impressively and is likely to reduce the burden on Evanilson as the season progresses.
But the visitors tired as the match wore on and were second best after the break, but they looked to have won the game as substitutes Tavernier and Christie combined late on.
However, Diakite’s error of judgement from a corner denied the Cherries the chance to go top of the league.
Bournemouth’s next match is a home encounter with managerless Nottingham Forest, who parted ways with Ange Postecoglou after their 3-0 defeat to Chelsea at the City Ground.
Club reports
Palace report | Bournemouth report
What the managers said
Oliver Glasner: "I know how our games are going, our last game against Liverpool and our away game to Everton was the same. It's that last goal in the extra time."
"I am so proud of the performance today not the result. How we played and how many chances we created.
"We were ruthless and every chance was a goal. The mentality of the team and the problems we caused. There has not been many teams that has caused Palace so many problems. It was an incredible display."
Andoni Iraola: "I cannot be happy, I am not pleased, I am upset and I am angry because of their goal in the 96th-minute, I cannot accept it.
"They were punishing us and it was a difficult moment when they scored to make it 2-2 but then we got it back and showed some character. To concede like this is difficult."
Next PL matches
Key facts
Crystal Palace are now unbeaten in 10 Premier League home games (W5 D5), only once going longer on home soil without a top-flight defeat - 17 without a loss from February to December 1990.
Bournemouth are now unbeaten in seven Premier League games (W4 D3) after losing three of the four before that (W1) while they netted 3+ goals without winning in the top flight for the first time since November 2022 away to Leeds United (3-4 defeat).
Courtesy of the brace from Kroupi and hat-trick from Mateta, this is the first time two Frenchman have scored 2+ goals in a Premier League match since August 2005, when Thierry Henry and Pascal Cygan did so for Arsenal against Fulham while this is the first time there's been one each for the opposing sides.
Bournemouth’s Kroupi scored in back-to-back league games for the first time ever in the big five European Leagues (36 appearances), becoming the third youngest Frenchman (19y 117d) to score in consecutive Premier League appearances behind Nicolas Anelka (18y 323d) and Charles N'Zogbia (19y 113d).