Crystal Palace returned to winning ways in spectacular circumstances with a 4-3 victory over London rivals West Ham United at Selhurst Park in the Premier League.
No fewer than five goals flew in during an all-action first half, where Tomas Soucek's opener was cancelled out by Jordan Ayew, Wilfried Zaha and Jeffrey Schlupp before Michail Antonio reduced the deficit.
Following the break, Eberechi Eze and Nayef Aguerd also made the net ripple for their respective sides, and Roy Hodgson's men survived nine minutes of added time to leapfrog Chelsea in the top-fight table.
An issue with the season ticket scanners meant that kickoff was delayed by 15 minutes in the capital, but the short hiatus did not impact either side's attacking quality during a frenetic first half.
Hodgson's side, who had Zaha back in the fold following his groin injury, started the brighter, but West Ham took just nine minutes to draw first blood, as the hosts failed to deal with a corner into the six-yard box and Soucek lashed home from close range.
However, as the side to have gleaned the most points from losing positions in the 2022-23 Premier League, Palace's response was unsurprisingly a positive one, and West Ham's lead lasted all of six minutes.
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Michael Olise - culpable for the Hammers' first goal as his poor header found its way to Soucek - slipped through Ayew, and the Ghanaian beat Lukasz Fabianski at his near post with a low effort into the corner.
Injury was added to insult for West Ham, as Kurt Zouma felt the full force of Ayew's studs when trying to block the Palace attacker's shot and was taken off for Angelo Ogbonna shortly afterwards.
An enforced defensive change was possibly the worst-case scenario for David Moyes's men, who fell behind in the 20th minute, failing to deal with Olise's ball across goal as Zaha side-footed home off the post.
As impressive as the Eagles' forward line were, West Ham were the architects of their own downfall, and goalscorer Soucek went from hero to zero on the half-hour mark; the Czech midfielder was robbed of the ball in a dangerous area by Schlupp, who proceeded to slot home through Fabianski's legs for the hosts' third.
The end-to-end action would not cease there, and Soucek quickly redeemed himself in the 35th minute, flicking on a corner for Antonio, who peeled away at the back post to nod home and swiftly reduce the deficit.
An absorbing first half appropriately ended with a dose of controversy, as a tussle between Zaha and Vladimir Coufal in the West Ham box ended with Palace fans screaming for a penalty, but Craig Pawson and VAR official Jarred Gillett were not convinced.
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Given the energy that both sets of players expended in the opening 45, a low-key start to the second half was perhaps inevitable, but Palace remained on the front foot and had a penalty appeal go their way just after the hour mark.
A slick passing move ended with Eze going down under Aguerd's flailing arm, and while the contact was minimal, Pawson immediately pointed to the spot. Eze dusted himself down, stuttered and sent Fabianski the wrong way to restore the Eagles' two-goal lead in the 65th minute.
However, Palace had not learned their lessons from West Ham's first two goals, and the hosts' deficiencies at defending corners once again came back to bite them as Moyes's side pulled another goal back after 73 minutes.
In what was almost a carbon copy of Antonio's first-half effort, Soucek met the set-piece at the near post to flick the ball onto the back stick, where a four-man scramble ended with Aguerd rectifying his mistake at the other end with the slightest of touches to force the ball over the line.
West Ham were gifted an initial six minutes of added time to find a late leveller, but Palace defended for their lives, and nearly 99 minutes were on the clock by the time that Pawson's final whistle blew.
The Eagles are now on the brink of securing their survival with 40 points from 34 games, clambering above Chelsea into 11th place before they face another capital clash with Tottenham Hotspur next Saturday.
Meanwhile, West Ham remain 15th on 34 points, five clear of the relegation zone ahead of a daunting journey to the Etihad Stadium to face champions Manchester City next Wednesday.
Ben Knapton
