Crystal Palace lost 3-2 to Lyon in the Europa League as Pierre Sage returned to face his former club. Sky Sports reports that Palace improved after a first half without a shot on target, but goals from Yeremy Pino and Daichi Kamada were insufficient to rescue a point.
Lyon establish the advantage
Corentin Tolisso opened the scoring after Palace failed to clear a corner. Ernest Nuamah added a second before half-time, leaving Sage's side with a substantial recovery task.
Pino reduced the deficit with a near-post finish following Adam Wharton's pass. Lyon then restored their two-goal cushion when Pavel Sulc diverted Keito Nakamura's attempt into the net.
Kamada brought Palace within one again with fewer than ten minutes remaining. Their late pressure did not produce an equaliser, so the improved second-half performance ultimately fell short.
Sage calls for greater consistency
Sage described the return as disappointing because of the result. He felt Palace had been below their normal standards before the interval and considerably better afterwards, while conceding Lyon's third made the task harder.
Sky's analysis highlighted set-piece defending. Its comparison records 35 Palace goals conceded from set plays across all competitions since the start of the previous season, illustrating a recurring weakness rather than an isolated incident.
Palace are due to face Brighton domestically on Sunday before travelling to Beşiktaş in Europe. Maintaining their level across both halves and avoiding early deficits are the issues raised by this performance, with the next results still to be determined.