Ipswich Town left Selhurst Park with all three points after a 3-2 win over 10-man Crystal Palace in Premier League Round 4. The visitors turned a balanced first half into a late away victory thanks to a 90th-minute strike from Zian Flemming. Palace had led early, battled back with an equalizer at 2-2, and defended well after a first-half red card, but Ipswich’s pressure finally told. You can revisit the full match timeline, xG flow and player stats on the Sofascore event page here, and track the wider picture in the Premier League hub.

For Ipswich, this was a performance built on steady control and smart shot quality. For Palace, it was about resilience, duels, and defending deep after going down to 10. The scoreline matches the underlying numbers: Ipswich created more, hit cleaner shots, and found the decisive touch late on.

How the match was won

Crystal Palace struck first on 14 minutes when Anan Khalaili finished a move started by Daichi Kamada’s incisive pass. The match tilted on 34 minutes when Axel Disasi was sent off, forcing Palace into a long rearguard. Ipswich equalized on 23 minutes through Emersonn, a well-timed header from Leif Davis’ cross, and then took the lead on the stroke of half-time as Davis nodded in, assisted by Emersonn. Palace responded with admirable grit, and Jørgen Strand Larsen leveled at 2-2 in the 75th minute from Kamada’s feed.

As legs tired, Ipswich’s pressure ramped up. The visitors hit the woodwork through Davis in the 90th minute as they flooded the box, and from the same phase Flemming pounced with a right-foot finish for 3-2. The shot carried an xG of 0.40 and a hefty xGOT of 0.90, underscoring the quality of the strike. Even with only 47 percent possession, Palace kept the game live until the very end, but Ipswich’s extra entries into the final third and sharper shot placement told. It was a late goal that matched the flow of the second half.

Ipswich’s attack vs Palace’s resolve

Over 90 minutes Ipswich produced 12 shots to Palace’s 11 and landed six on target to four. The visitors’ expected goals read 1.67 against Palace’s 0.62, while expected goals on target swung dramatically to 3.67 vs 0.51. That gap reflects both the quality and placement of Ipswich’s finishing. They also logged 30 touches in the box to Palace’s 21 and attempted 21 crosses with five accurate, while Palace managed two accurate from 20 attempts.

Palace, reduced to 10 men, leaned into duels and defending. They won 56 percent of all duels, including 62 percent on the ground, and completed 18 tackles to Ipswich’s 12 with a 67 percent tackle success rate. Walter Benítez made three saves and prevented 0.67 goals according to the model, which kept Palace in it despite the man disadvantage. Ipswich’s Kjell Scherpen finished with two saves and negative goals prevented, yet Ipswich’s attack did enough to overcome that dip. In short, Palace scrapped impressively, but Ipswich carried the clearer chance profile and more territory in the decisive areas.

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Key numbers that shaped 3-2

The split was clear in the attacking thirds. Ipswich completed 65 final-third entries to Palace’s 45 and delivered five accurate crosses to Palace’s two. They also finished with more sprints (101 to 86) and covered more ground (116.4 km to 111.7 km), which helped sustain pressure late. The big-chance ledger read 3 to 1 for Ipswich, and they converted all three. Palace, by contrast, missed their only big chance.

Set pieces and crossings told their own story. Palace had more corners, 6 to 3, but Ipswich’s delivery and second-phase pressure were more fruitful. In the air, Ipswich won 58 percent of aerial duels, a key edge for both Emersonn’s header and Davis’ first-half goal. On the deck, Palace won the battles and the tackles, but Ipswich’s superior volume of final-third actions accumulated into the winning moment. When the decisive chance came, Flemming’s shot quality did the rest.

MVP: Quinten Timber’s all-action shift

Quinten Timber earned the highest Sofascore Rating on the pitch at 7.9 and was everywhere for Palace. He played all 90 minutes, won 13 duels, and racked up eight tackles with four won, a huge return for a midfielder in a match played mostly down a player. On the ball he completed 34 of 45 passes, progressed play with 16 ball carries and over 75 meters of progressive carrying distance, and took two shots, one on target. Add six recoveries, two fouls won, and 11.39 km covered with 10 sprints, and you have a performance that knitted together defense and transition.

Context matters too. After Disasi’s red card, Timber’s workload spiked. He shuttled to close passing lanes, stepped in for timely tackles, and still found moments to push possession into the Ipswich half. While Ipswich won the match, Timber’s blend of volume and efficiency in duels and tackles, plus steady distribution, made him the standout individual. Nearby in the ratings, Emersonn and Jørgen Strand Larsen both posted 7.7, with Emersonn delivering a goal and assist and Larsen scoring Palace’s second. Walter Benítez’s 7.6 reflected strong shot-stopping that kept the contest alive deep into stoppage time.

Player of the Match

By Sofascore Rating, Quinten Timber topped the list at 7.9. Fans agreed: Timber received 672 votes out of 1663, the most on the night. That made him both the highest-rated player and the supporters’ choice in one sweep.