Crystal Palace spent the first half in Lyon watching a game get away from them, and the second half proving they should never have let it. They lost 3-2 at the Groupama Stadium, their first away match in the Europa League, and left with three points from two games and a long list of what-ifs.
A slow start that cost Palace
It took Lyon eight minutes to score. Palace failed to deal with a corner from the right, the ball ran loose in the box and Corentin Tolisso reacted fastest to bury it. From there the first half was flat and cagey, with Palace offering almost nothing going forward. Lyon made it 2-0 in first-half stoppage time when Keito Nakamura slid a low cross across and Ernest Nuamah finished well.
For a side that had already come from behind to win in the Premier League this season, against Fulham and Nottingham Forest, the damage looked heavy but not fatal. The home team were comfortable, and Palace were poor.
Pino pulls one back, then the game turns
The change after the break was obvious. Palace got a goal back in the 50th minute from a short corner. Adam Wharton, first time, played a sharp pass that Yeremy Pino met instantly, and his shot went into the roof of the net to make it 2-1. They had chances to level before Lyon restored their two-goal lead. Pavel Sulc did it with a clever backheel flick that went into the net, and it came against the run of play.
Daichi Kamada, a substitute, gave Palace hope again by finishing from six yards to make it 3-2. Jorgen Strand Larsen had headed over earlier, and Kamada also had a shot saved. In the 90th minute Chris Richards got his head to a Wharton corner, but Lyon goalkeeper Dominik Greif saved it. The hosts held on.
Sage's night in his old city
It was a return for Palace manager Pierre Sage, who ran Lyon from November 2023 to January 2025 after working there as a coach. There were 3,000 Palace fans in the ground and this was one of the ties supporters had circled when the draw was made. The route here was unusual too. Palace won the FA Cup for the first time in 2025 but were dropped into the Conference League because of the Textor ownership overlap with Lyon, then won that competition to earn this place. Their reward on the night was a lesson about starting games on time.
Kamada was named player of the match by BBC readers with an average rating of 7.13. Palace play at Brighton on Sunday and then travel to Turkey to face Besiktas next Thursday, still with plenty of league-phase football left.
Match facts: Lyon 3-2 Crystal Palace, UEFA Europa League, league phase, Thursday 15 October 2026. Goals: Tolisso 8', Nuamah (first-half stoppage time), Pino 50', Sulc (second half), Kamada (second half). Palace have three points from two games after their earlier 4-0 win over Lech Poznan.
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