Crystal Palace were left to rue a poor first-half showing as they lost 3-2 to Lyon in their first-ever away match in the Europa League. Pierre Sage, who managed Lyon from November 2023 until January 2025, saw his current side fall 2-0 behind before the interval on his return to the French club.
Backed by around 3,000 travelling supporters, Palace offered little as an attacking force during the opening 45 minutes and allowed Lyon to establish control. The Eagles improved considerably after the break, with Yeremy Pino pulling one goal back and Palace creating opportunities to level the contest.
Lyon’s third goal arrived against the run of play, but Daichi Kamada quickly reduced the deficit again to set up a tense finish. Palace came close to securing a point in the 90th minute when Chris Richards met a Wharton corner, only for goalkeeper Dominik Greif to make an important save.
The fixture had been highly anticipated by Palace supporters after the club won the FA Cup for the first time in 2025. That success was initially expected to place the Eagles in the 2025-26 Europa League, but Palace were moved into the Conference League because then co-owner John Textor also held majority ownership of Lyon. Textor subsequently sold his Palace share and left his leadership position at Lyon, while Uefa ruled that Lyon would remain in the Europa League because they had finished higher in their domestic league.
Palace later won the Conference League to return to the Europa League for the 2026-27 campaign, but they began this away schedule with defeat in France. The Eagles now face Brighton on Sunday before travelling to Turkey to meet Besiktas in their next Europa League fixture on Thursday.
