Crystal Palace were beaten 3-2 by Lyon in their first-ever away Europa League tie, with a subdued opening half leaving Pierre Sage’s side facing a difficult task in France.
The Eagles had the backing of around 3,000 supporters but offered little in attack before the interval. Lyon appeared comfortable with a 2-0 lead, while Palace struggled to impose themselves in Sage’s return to the club he managed from November 2023 until January 2025 after previously working there as a coach.
Palace improved considerably after the break and reduced the deficit through Yeremy Pino. They created further opportunities to level the contest, only for Lyon to restore their two-goal advantage against the run of play.
Daichi Kamada scored soon afterwards to give the visitors hope of completing a comeback. Palace came close to rescuing a point in the 90th minute, but Chris Richards’ header from a Wharton corner was kept out by Lyon goalkeeper Dominik Greif.
The fixture had been particularly anticipated by Palace supporters after the club’s 2025 FA Cup triumph. That success initially appeared set to secure Europa League football, but Palace were instead moved into the Conference League because then co-owner John Textor also held majority ownership of Lyon. Textor subsequently sold his Palace stake and left his leadership role 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.
Palace now turn their attention to Sunday’s trip to rivals Brighton before returning to European action next Thursday with a visit to Turkey to face Besiktas.
