Crystal Palace pushed QPR deeper into the relegation mire with a 3-1 victory over their London rivals at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Alan Pardew's side swept into a three-goal lead by half-time thanks to strikes from Wilfried Zaha, James McArthur and Joel Ward.

Matt Phillips produced one of the goals of the season in the closing stages, but the winger's brilliant drive, from at least 40 yards out, came too late to spark a QPR fightback.

QPR's fourth successive Premier League loss extended their miserable run to nine defeats in their last 10 games, leaving the west Londoners third bottom and three points from safety.

While QPR have shown no signs of improvement since Chris Ramsey replaced Harry Redknapp as manager in February, Palace have been in the ascendency since Pardew took over from Neil Warnock.

The Eagles look certain to retain their top-flight status for another season after moving 11 points clear of the bottom three.

Shaun Wright-Phillips made his first Premier League start in more than two years, but the 33-year-old's presence failed to spark an improvement from QPR.

Palace took the lead in the 21st minute when Yannick Bolasie sent a low, driven cross to the far post, where Zaha turned home under pressure.

It was a goal that came at a cost, though, as the winger's momentum meant he suffered a nasty collision with the post, leading to several minutes of medical attention.

Pardew's team doubled their lead five minutes before half-time as Bolasie was again allowed to send over a cross and this time McArthur got ahead of Yun Suk-young to tap home from close range.

QPR's dismal collapse did not stop there.

Zaha was running riot and, despite being hassled by three QPR players, was still able to cut back for Ward, whose shot under pressure from Sandro snuck into the far corner.

With the points effectively in the bag, Palace rarely needed to break sweat in the second half before Phillips injected some life into proceedings, hitting a remarkable drive past Speroni from just inside the Eagles' half.