OLIVER GLASNER used Kobe Bryant as a source of inspiration for his pre-match programme notes.
And Eberechi Eze responded by producing an MVP performance to help Crystal Palace see off relegation rivals Southampton thanks to a 52nd-minute net-bulging, slam dunk of a winner.
Glasner quoted the late NBA legend Bryant before kick-off: “Try to be better today than you were yesterday, and better tomorrow than you were today. This won’t stop in 2025.”
With just one defeat in their last eight, those words are beginning to have the desired effect.
Meanwhile, the Saints look like a basketball team full of players trying to shoot wild three-pointers with one arm behind their backs, still treading serious water at the foot of the Prem.
No win in nine, just one victory all season and without an away-day top-flight triumph since February 2023 – almost TWO YEARS – now puts them 10 points from safety.
As Palace edge away from danger, Southampton look no closer to survival under Ivan Juric than the recently sacked Russell Martin.
And even when there is a glimmer of hope, it is quickly dashed.
Tyler Dibling’s 14th minute opener was cancelled out by Trevoh Chalobah’s 31st minute header with Aaron Ramsdale in the spotlight again.
Juric’s dreams of becoming just the fifth manager to guide a Prem team to safety after being bottom at Christmas look more fanciful by the second, even with 19 games to go.
Southampton are the kings of shaking things up this season when it comes to squad rotation, using 31 different players this term.
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Unsurprisingly then, Juric made three changes to his starting line-up in south London with Dibling, James Bree and Joe Aribo in for Yukinari Sugawara, Flynn Downes and Lesley Ugochukwu.
Palace were without the suspended Marc Guehi, seeing Chris Richards step into the heart of defence.
It also meant Will Hughes shook off a slight niggle to captain the side.
Richards’ presence was perhaps a blessing in disguise – the American has height on his side compared to Guehi, up against the 6ft7 monster in Paul Onuachu.
Juric has so far favoured the towering Nigerian to lead the line, a player who admitted earlier this season he was looking to leave in the summer under a disapproving Martin.
Away from Martin’s frustrating tippy-tappy style – one that earned the sack – Juric has utilised Onuachu heavily early on, even if his hold-up play is far from polished.
And yet, you could be mistaken for thinking Martin was still in charge – an opening goal straight from the pass-pass-pass playbook.
Dibling dropped off the front and started the move, ending up with Kyle Walker-Peters doing Daniel Munoz for pace and finding Adam Armstrong in the middle to flick into the six-yard box.
Dibling tapped into an empty net, leaving the rest of his teammates stunned.
Just a 12th Prem goal this term, their first in five matches – since December 4 – and their first opener in a game since November 2.
A brief gust of confidence in their battered sails almost saw the visitors grab another – James Bree volleying at Dean Henderson at the far post from an Onuachu header.
But Palace seized back momentum with some consistently wasteful openings until a slice of luck from a corner.
VAR deemed Jean-Philippe Mateta’s shove on Aaron Ramsdale was not enough to send the Englishman down, subsequently flapping at Chalobah’s header that bobbled over the line.
Ramsdale was still moaning to himself when he was called into action twice in quick succession, palming away Ismaila Sarr’s driving effort and standing firm against Jefferson Lerma’s bicycle kick.
Sarr turned creator soon after but his low cross was somehow fluffed by Munoz at the back post, striking the heels of Walker-Peters on the line.
Inside seven second-half minutes, we then got a glimpse of why Southampton are where they are, conceding a highly unnecessary goal after failing to clear a bog-standard corner not once but twice.
The result? Eze thumping one heck of a volley from outside the box through a sea of bodies and scorching the net of a helpless Ramsdale.
And about time too, the Eagles star scoring in the Prem for just the second time, and the first time at Selhurst Park.
He is still not at the levels of last season where he notched 11.
He eyed another, sending a low 70th minute free-kick off the wall and just over Ramsdale’s bar, the last of the good chances as Palace saw out an important victory.
