Crystal Palace return to form with emphatic win over Lech Poznań
Crystal Palace celebrated their first-ever Europa League match with a 4-0 victory over Lech Poznań at Selhurst Park, giving Pierre Sage his third win in four games in all competitions.
The scoreline was convincing, but Palace could easily have fallen behind inside two minutes.
Match highlight
Lech captain Mikael Ishak, the club’s all-time leading scorer in European competition, found himself with an open goal after a pass from Patrik Wålemark. He sent his shot wide.
Palace responded with a sustained spell of pressure and were handed the lead in the 10th minute. Lech defender Terry Yegbe played an unexpected pass straight to Yeremy Pino, who took full advantage. The winger scored Palace’s first Europa League goal and ended a 27-game wait for a goal of his own.
Lech’s travelling support remained loud, and Ishak had another opportunity in the 21st minute. He met a pass with a half-volley but fired over the bar from a good position.
That miss proved costly. Six minutes later, Adam Wharton delivered a corner and Chris Richards rose to head home his first goal in European competition. Palace were 2-0 up and in control.
The hosts added a third six minutes after that. Pino was brought down by Radosław Murawski in the penalty area, and Jørgen Strand Larsen drove the penalty high into the net. It was his fourth goal in three matches.
Yegbe then put the ball into his own net from distance, but Lech were saved by an earlier offside against Strand Larsen.
The second half remained open. Palace looked for more goals, while Lech tried to score in a 16th straight away match in European competition. Pino was close to a second when Michał Gurgul made an important sliding block in the 66th minute.
There was also a welcome return for Ismaïla Sarr, Palace’s leading scorer in last season’s Conference League. The forward came on late after recovering from a groin injury. Eddie Nketiah also entered the match and sent one effort wide before Palace added a fourth.
Murawski was sent off late on after receiving a second yellow card, and Nketiah finished the scoring in the 89th minute with a low shot into the bottom corner.
The result gave Palace only their second win in six matches at Selhurst Park, though their European home record remains strong: they are unbeaten in seven continental games there, with five wins and two draws. Lech’s six-match unbeaten away run in Europe is over after a second successive defeat.
