Christian Benteke stuns dominant Brighton with last-gasp volley to seal victory for Crystal Palace following Jean-Philippe Mateta’s incredible backheel

Substitute Christian Benteke stunned Brighton with a last-gasp volley to seal an unlikely 2-1 victory for Crystal Palace at the Amex Stadium.

The Seagulls dominated but were left heartbroken after the Belgian striker swept an inch-perfect volley home in the 95th minute to seal a much-needed win for Palace.

Benteke’s stunning goal was the second brilliant goal scored by an Eagles player on the night.

Jean-Philippe Mateta, who joined Palace on loan in January, opened the scoring with a sublime backheel to put his side ahead in the first-half.

Cheikhou Kouyate’s searching pass released Jordan Ayew on the right and his low cross allowed Frenchman Mateta – on loan from German club Mainz – to delicately divert the ball home on the turn and claim his first Palace goal.

Brighton dominated proceedings at the Amex Stadium and levelled through Joel Veltman shortly after half-time.

Palace showed little ambition for much of the match and once again struggled to create in the absence of injured talisman Wilfried Zaha, with the two superb goals their only attempts on target.

Yet Eagles manager Roy Hodgson will be more than satisfied with a result which moves his side 10 points above the relegation zone.

Defeat for the hosts halts their club-record Premier League unbeaten run at six games, while scuppering their hopes of leapfrogging their fiercest foes for the first time this season.

Graham Potter’s men remain just four points clear of the bottom three after failing to capitalise on their superiority.