Pierre Sage described Crystal Palace’s 3-2 defeat by Lyon as a disappointing result, saying the loss overshadowed the significance of returning home and seeing familiar faces.
Although the scoreline remained close, Sage felt there was a clear difference between the teams’ performances. In his assessment, Palace only reached their expected level after the interval, when they improved considerably and created a realistic opportunity to draw level.
The third goal conceded by Palace made that task more difficult. Sage believed the second-half response merited an equaliser, but considered a victory too generous a reward given that Palace had performed to that standard for only one half.
The defeat also came amid an unwanted set-piece statistic for Palace. Since the beginning of last season, they have conceded 16 goals from corners in all competitions—more than every Premier League side except Chelsea, with West Ham also on 16.
