Pierre Sage wants Crystal Palace to respond quickly after a disappointing 3-2 Europa League defeat against his former club Lyon at the Groupama Stadium.
Palace were second best during a first half that saw Corentin Tolisso and Ernest Nuamah put the hosts two goals ahead. Yeremy Pino reduced the deficit after the break, but Pavel Sulc restored Lyon’s two-goal advantage before Daichi Kamada’s 81st-minute strike gave the Eagles hope without changing the result.
The opening goal again highlighted Palace’s vulnerability from set pieces, with the visitors unable to clear a corner before Tolisso finished. Palace have now conceded 35 goals from set plays in all competitions since the start of last season. Only Chelsea, with 37, and Newcastle United, with 36, have allowed more among Premier League sides.
Sage felt the performance improved significantly after the interval, but said the damage had already been done by Palace’s passive first-half display. He acknowledged that the team failed to deal with Lyon’s tactical problems, did not compete strongly enough and lacked initiative in possession.
The Palace manager is now focusing on Sunday’s Premier League clash with Brighton, describing the derby as the priority and urging his players to take the lesson from Lyon without allowing the defeat to linger.
Brighton will also arrive after European action, having begun their Conference League campaign with a 4-0 victory over Kauno Zalgiris on Thursday.
