It was a night to forget for Crystal Palace, who despite having a numerical advantage, were completely dominated and swept aside by their rivals Brighton.
Glenn Murray got the hosts on their way by emphatically tucking home a penalty after James McArthur brought down Jose Izquierdo in the area.
Palace were thrown a lifeline minutes later when Shane Duffy received his marching orders for an off-the-ball incident. It should have put the wind in their sails, but it was Brighton who struck again.
Leon Balogun came on for Pascal Gross and with his first touch volleyed the ball from a corner into the net to double Brighton's lead.
As if the first 45 was not bad enough, it was compounded by James Tomkins' error right at the end of the half, which allowed Florin Andone to pick up the ball in the box and fire in a third.
Luka Milivojevic grabbed one back for the visitors from the penalty spot with 11 minutes left but it was too late, too little as Brighton remained firm for the rest of the match to register a huge win.
