West Brom 1 Crystal Palace 5: The Albion talking points

With the score at 1-1 after 30 minutes, the Baggies were playing some decent stuff before Matheus Pereira was harshly dismissed by referee Paul Tierney.

Here, Joseph Masi looks at the big talking points from the game.

VAR goes against Albion once again

You can now make a case that video referees have failed the Baggies on five occasions this season.

Back in September, VAR officials failed to spot a foul committed by Dominic Calvert-Lewin for Everton’s first goal.

In November, Conor Gallagher should have had a penalty at Manchester United. And on Sunday, Pereira was hard done by to be sent off while both Branislav Ivanovic and Gallagher should have been awarded spot-kicks.

If those decisions had been left to the officials on the field, Calvert-Lewin’s goal would have been ruled out, Gallagher would have won a penalty at Old Trafford and Pereira wouldn’t have seen red.

But VAR got involved, muddied the water and ruled against the Baggies every single time.

Bad decisions are supposed to even themselves out over the course of a season. If that is true, Albion are due a heap of good fortune.

Baggies fans know, though, that isn’t going to happen. Instead, this group of players has to develop a siege mentality and accept 50/50 calls are likely to go against them.

A second-half collapse

There is no other way to say it – Albion collapsed in the second half against Palace and that is unacceptable.

Yes, there was hurt and a huge sense of injustice caused by VAR. And it was understandable that – like supporters – the players felt disheartened and demoralised. But they still had to get on with the job at hand and the truth is they didn’t.

Some of the defending as Palace ran riot was dreadful and it has led to the Baggies dropping a place in the table.

If they had lost 3-1 they would still be 18th, but the 5-1 loss saw them drop to 19th with Burnley leapfrogging them.

In what is an incredibly tight battle for survival, the Baggies can’t just throw away goals that could prove crucial at the end of the season.

Pressure on Slaven Bilic

It’s the way of the world now that after any heavy loss, there will be calls on social media for the manager to be moved on. Those calls intensify when the team you support has won just once in 15 league outings.

Speculation is rife that Bilic’s time at The Hawthorns could soon be coming to an end. But take away that disastrous second-half display on Sunday and the Baggies have been improving.

They played well against both Tottenham and Man United before getting the win they craved against Sheffield United.

They were also playing some good stuff and had just equalised against Palace before Pereira’s red.

In this writer’s opinion, Albion have improved as the season has gone on – particularly after their recent shift to a 3-5-2 formation.

And they are just one win away from hauling themselves out the bottom three.

After everything he has achieved, including winning promotion a year ahead of schedule, Bilic deserves more time.

Goalscoring Gallagher

Conor Gallagher has received plenty of plaudits since joining the Baggies on a season-long loan from Chelsea.

Now, though, the midfielder has started to add goals to his outstanding, high energy, displays.

Coming through the youth ranks at Chelsea, Gallagher has often been compared to his idol – Frank Lampard.

And last month even Bilic admitted in a press conference that it’s easy to see the comparisons.

By adding goals, Gallagher has taken his game to an even higher level. Albion fans need to savour him because this boy is going right to the top.