Bottom club Aston Villa secured their first win under Remi Garde after an awful mistake by Crystal Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.
Hennessey allowed Joleon Lescott's header from a corner to squirm from his grasp and trickle over the line.
Palace almost took the lead when Wilfried Zaha hit a post after just 42 seconds at Villa Park.
In a much improved Villa display, returning striker Libor Kozak forced a fine save when the game was goalless.
- Relive the action as it happened
Bold Garde rewarded for team selection
Garde deserves credit for his side's first win since the opening day of the season after making sweeping changes to the team defeated at Sunderland last time out in the Premier League.
Keeper Brad Guzan and defender Micah Richards were among those left on the bench, with striker Kozak starting for the first time in the league since Boxing Day 2013.
Palace started brightly, Zaha hitting the base of the post in the opening minute after Jason Puncheon's threaded pass before Bakary Sako fired over from 25 yards and Damien Delaney got between two defenders before shooting just wide.
Villa settled with Kozak impressing in attack and forcing a fine save from Hennessey before the Wales international failed to hold Lescott's tame header, the ball dropping between his feet and rolling over the line.
Aston Villa forward Libor Kozak's touch map shows he covered plenty of ground on his first Premier League start since Boxing Day 2013
Can Villa stay up?
Aston Villa players showed pride - Remi Garde
This was a long overdue committed performance, one which Villa fans have been crying out for.
But despite a highly encouraging result, Villa remain in deep trouble at the bottom of the table, eight points from safety with 17 games remaining.
Yet Garde's new-look team showed more heart and energy in these 90 minutes than they had displayed in the previous 19 games since the opening day win at Bournemouth.
A huge turnaround in fortune is needed to get out of the mess they are in but this was a move in the right direction, a far cry from the lacklustre performance in the FA Cup third round draw at League Two Wycombe which angered their fans so much.
Palace's season at a crossroads
Tough night for Palace - Alan Pardew
What has happened to Palace?
Away wins at Chelsea and Liverpool seem a long time ago and Alan Pardew's side are now without a win in four league games.
Victory at Villa Park would have put them level on points with sixth-placed Manchester United but talk of Palace gate-crashing Europe next season is premature after a lacklustre display.
There are some big tests around the corner for Pardew's men and they will certainly have to perform much better than they did against Villa.
Man of the match - Joleon Lescott (Aston Villa)
Joleon Lescott (centre) was a commanding presence at the heart of Villa's defence as the hosts not only recorded a rare win but also kept a clean sheet for the first time since 8 November.
What the manager said
Aston Villa manager Remi Garde: "We won only 1-0 but we created many good opportunities.
"We earned our luck by being very aggressive on the ball. We didn't sit back after we scored, we tried to score a second. We had a very good attitude."
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew: "A lot of things went wrong.
"We lacked energy, we lacked quality, one of our poorest displays of the season. Villa really deserved their victory - they worked so, so hard.
The stats you need to know
- Aston Villa recorded their first Premier League win in 20 attempts, having lost 14 of the previous 19.
- The past eight league meetings between Villa and Crystal Palace have produced just 11 goals.
- Palace have failed to score in four successive top-flight matches for the first time since February 1998.
- This was Villa's first home Premier League win over Palace since March 1998.
- Palace have kept just two clean sheets in their last 16 Premier League away matches.
- Villa have only scored a first-half goal in two of their last 16 Premier League games and in none of their past six.
What's next?
Despite victory, it does not get any easier for Aston Villa with second-placed Leicester City visiting Villa Park on Saturday (17:30 GMT). On the same day, Palace are at third-placed Manchester City (15:00 GMT).
Palace keeper Wayne Hennessey tweeted this message after the game
Lineup, Bookings (3) & Substitutions (4)
Aston Villa
- 31 Bunn
- 07 Bacuna
- 05 Okore
- 16 Lescott
- 43 Cissokho
- 17 Veretout Booked
- 15 Westwood
- 08 Gueye Booked
- 25 Gil (Clark - 91' )
- 27 Kozák
- 19 J Ayew
Substitutes
- 01 Guzan
- 04 Richards
- 06 Clark
- 09 Sinclair
- 18 Richardson
- 38 Lyden
- 39 Gestede
Crystal Palace
- 13 Hennessey
- 02 Ward Booked
- 06 Dann
- 27 Delaney
- 23 Souaré
- 28 Ledley (Wickham - 45' )
- 07 Cabaye
- 18 McArthur (Jedinak - 78' )
- 42 Puncheon
- 26 Sako (Chamakh - 62' )
- 11 Zaha
Substitutes
- 01 Speroni
- 09 Campbell
- 15 Jedinak
- 21 Wickham
- 22 Mutch
- 29 Chamakh
- 34 Kelly
Match Stats
Live Text Commentary
Full Time Match ends, Aston Villa 1, Crystal Palace 0.
90:00 +3:11 Full timeFull Time Second Half ends, Aston Villa 1, Crystal Palace 0.
90:00 +1:31Foul by Libor Kozák (Aston Villa).
90:00 +1:31Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90:00 +1:13Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Yohan Cabaye.
90:00 +0:45Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Pape Souaré.
90:00 +0:17 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Aston Villa. Ciaran Clark replaces Carles Gil.
89:21Offside, Crystal Palace. Yohan Cabaye tries a through ball, but Marouane Chamakh is caught offside.
87:10Attempt missed. Scott Dann (Crystal Palace) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Mile Jedinak with a cross.
85:35Foul by Ashley Westwood (Aston Villa).
85:35Marouane Chamakh (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing.
84:44Attempt missed. Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Ashley Westwood.
80:11Offside, Aston Villa. Carles Gil tries a through ball, but Libor Kozák is caught offside.
79:30 BookingBooking Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
79:28Marouane Chamakh (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
79:28Foul by Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa).
78:41 BookingBooking Joel Ward (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
78:37Foul by Joel Ward (Crystal Palace).
78:37Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa) wins a free kick on the left wing.
77:54 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Crystal Palace. Mile Jedinak replaces James McArthur.
Foul by Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa).
77:41James McArthur (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
76:18Offside, Aston Villa. Ashley Westwood tries a through ball, but Libor Kozák is caught offside.
75:22Foul by Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace).
75:22Jordan Veretout (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
71:36Offside, Crystal Palace. Scott Dann tries a through ball, but Marouane Chamakh is caught offside.
70:50Attempt missed. Connor Wickham (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Pape Souaré.
69:22Jordan Veretout (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
69:22Foul by Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace).
68:57Attempt blocked. Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
67:57 BookingBooking Jordan Veretout (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
67:54Foul by Jordan Veretout (Aston Villa).
67:54Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
63:52Foul by Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa).
63:52Joel Ward (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing.
61:02 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Crystal Palace. Marouane Chamakh replaces Bakary Sako.
60:36Foul by Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa).
60:36Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
57:36 Goal scoredGoal! Goal! Aston Villa 1, Crystal Palace 0. Joleon Lescott (Aston Villa) header from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jordan Veretout with a cross following a corner.
57:16Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Damien Delaney.
55:58Foul by Libor Kozák (Aston Villa).
55:58Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
55:38Attempt saved. Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
54:48Foul by Leandro Bacuna (Aston Villa).
54:48Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
52:13Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Connor Wickham.
52:12Attempt blocked. Aly Cissokho (Aston Villa) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
51:47Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Wayne Hennessey.
51:44Attempt saved. Libor Kozák (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jordan Ayew.
51:04Libor Kozák (Aston Villa) wins a free kick on the right wing.
51:04Foul by James McArthur (Crystal Palace).
47:41Foul by Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa).
47:41Joel Ward (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing.
46:27Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
46:27Foul by Joel Ward (Crystal Palace).
45:00Second Half begins Aston Villa 0, Crystal Palace 0.
45:00 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Crystal Palace. Connor Wickham replaces Joe Ledley.
45:00 +1:07 Half timeHalf Time First Half ends, Aston Villa 0, Crystal Palace 0.
45:00 +0:56Attempt missed. Joel Ward (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right.
43:07Attempt blocked. Ashley Westwood (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
42:43Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Damien Delaney.
42:42Attempt blocked. Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Ashley Westwood.
40:51Attempt blocked. Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
38:39Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Pape Souaré.
38:08Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Joe Ledley.
38:07Attempt blocked. Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jordan Veretout.
35:03Offside, Crystal Palace. Joe Ledley tries a through ball, but Bakary Sako is caught offside.
33:54Joleon Lescott (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
33:54Foul by Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace).
30:19Delay over. They are ready to continue.
29:12Delay in match Carles Gil (Aston Villa) because of an injury.
26:53Attempt missed. Damien Delaney (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Yohan Cabaye with a cross following a set piece situation.
26:15Foul by Jores Okore (Aston Villa).
26:15Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the left wing.
25:14Attempt missed. Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Libor Kozák with a headed pass.
24:32Offside, Crystal Palace. Pape Souaré tries a through ball, but Bakary Sako is caught offside.
24:16Delay over. They are ready to continue.
23:40Delay in match Damien Delaney (Crystal Palace) because of an injury.
23:19Foul by Libor Kozák (Aston Villa).
23:19Damien Delaney (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
19:55Attempt missed. Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Wilfried Zaha.
18:34Foul by Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa).
18:34Joel Ward (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing.
15:19Ashley Westwood (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
15:19Foul by Joel Ward (Crystal Palace).
14:04Foul by Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa).
14:04Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
13:06Attempt saved. Jordan Veretout (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Idrissa Gueye.
10:41Hand ball by James McArthur (Crystal Palace).
9:44Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing.
9:44Foul by Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa).
7:09Foul by James McArthur (Crystal Palace).
7:09Carles Gil (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
6:04Attempt blocked. Leandro Bacuna (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jordan Veretout.
3:35Offside, Crystal Palace. Yohan Cabaye tries a through ball, but Bakary Sako is caught offside.
1:59Attempt missed. Ashley Westwood (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top left corner following a corner.
1:30Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Scott Dann.
1:28Attempt blocked. Libor Kozák (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
0:42Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) hits the right post with a right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left. Assisted by Jason Puncheon.
0:00First Half begins.
0:00Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
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