Burnley beat blunt Crystal Palace to earn first win of season

Burnley beat a blunted Crystal Palace side to earn their first win of the Premier League season.

Chris Woods pounced on a mistake by Cheikhou Kouyate to score the only goal, and the Clarets first at home this season.

Palace manager Roy Hodgson revealed Wilfried Zaha had been ruled out of the Turf Moor trip after testing positive for coronavirus and although they created enough chances to claim a point, it was clear they missed their talisman.

The decisive moment of the game came as early as the eighth minute when Wood found the back of the net after being put through by strike partner Jay Rodriguez, making his first league start in two months, as the Clarets won 1-0.

Burnley came into this fixture as the division's lowest scorers and this was only their fourth goal in eight matches - and first in five games - but it was enough to move them out of the relegation zone.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson clattered the crossbar on his 100th Premier League appearance, which meant Burnley were hanging on as full-time approached.

But Nick Pope saved brilliantly from Michy Batshuayi - Zaha's replacement - and substitute Christian Benteke in the second half to ensure the Clarets claimed their first league win since July 18.

Additional reporting by Press Association.

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