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For much of this fast-paced encounter, Bournemouth fans were anticipating the possibility of going top of the Premier League, even if potentially only for a few hours, and inflicting only Crystal Palace's second-ever home loss of 2025.

Andoni Iraola's strong side had taken the lead through a brace from teenager Eli Junior Kroupi before being caught up by Jean-Philippe Mateta and believed they had won it when replacement Ryan Christie found the net with two minutes of regular time left.

But Mateta, who netted on his international debut in midweek, had other ideas as he converted a late penalty to complete his hat-trick, though he could potentially won it had he taken a great chance at the death.

Managerial Spotlight Before the Match

A great deal of the attention before this fixture had centered on the individuals in the dugouts, with both Iraola and Oliver Glasner without deals in the summer and coveted by clubs with much bigger budgets.

Palace also find themselves in the top half of the table having failed to win any of their initial eight games last season but demonstrated once again the team spirit they have built under their Austrian manager.

Quick Bournemouth Advantage

Glasner has established his results at Palace on a solid defence yet they ended up behind after just seven minutes after an impressive start from the visitors.

The pace with which Bournemouth's front four applied pressure from the start disturbed their opponents and it was from an early corner that Kroupi, starting only his second-ever league game since arriving from Bournemouth's sister club Lorient in the off-season due to a calf injury to Evanilson, was able to score the excellent Antoine Semenyo's touch despite a hint of offside.

Mateta ought to have equalised from Yeremy Pino's cross midway through the first half as Palace started to find some gaps in Bournemouth's revamped defence.

Additional Goal and Controversy

An impeccable piece of control in his own half was the spark for Bournemouth's second goal, with Chris Richards left for dead as he sped down the left flank and delivered a ground pass.

Marc Guéhi, who Glasner stated this week will leave on a no-fee move next summer, could only deflect it straight to Kroupi and Henderson was unable to prevent his volley from going over the line.

Palace began the second half with much more purpose but a moment of controversy five minutes in hinted that it might not be their day.

Ismaila Sarr was clean through when he was fouled by Marcos Senesi, though referee Jarred Gillett decided that only deserved a caution as he believed the Senegal forward was moving away from goal.

Dramatic Recovery and Final Equalizer

After considerable deliberation from the video assistant referee, and to Glasner's clear frustration, the original decision remained.

But Palace's fortunes suddenly changed when Mateta's strike from Daniel Muñoz's cross was at first disallowed for offside before being quickly overturned.

Within minutes he had his second goal of the match when he miraculously guided the ball in from a tight angle after Petrovic had blocked from Muñoz as Selhurst Park exploded.

Senesi escaped again when he seemed to shove Sarr over when he was advancing on goal but Gillett waved away Palace's protests.

Eddie Nketiah had the ball in the net but this time it was rightly ruled out for offside, with Christie believing he had snatched the victory after ramming home from close range.

But Mateta ensured that honours ended level when Bafodé Diakité was judged to have fouled Guéhi in added time.