Crystal Palace’s European journey hit an early stumbling block as they suffered a frustrating 1-0 defeat at the hands of AEK Larnaca.
Despite dominating the game against their resolute Cypriot opponents, they couldn’t find a way through and were punished by Riad Bajic’s stunning strike as he seized on a defensive error.
The Eagles put their opponents under huge late pressure, but the loss is a setback for Oliver Glasner’s side after they beat Dynamo Kyiv earlier this month in their UEFA Conference League opener.
Daily Mail Sport’s WILL PICKWORTH was at Selhurst Park and he has picked out some key talking points from the clash.
Palace’s European challenge
At their best Palace are dynamic and incisive in attack, but with their recent success has come respect, particularly in the Conference League where they are one of the best sides.
With that acclaim there is an alteration to how opposing teams approach games by sitting in a low block and letting them have most of the ball. It is no secret Glasner’s side are better in transition – and they average just 42.7 per cent of possession in the Premier League this season.
In Europe it is a different story, and they struggled to break down Larnaca despite having 67 per cent of it here.
They did miss some big chances again, yet they rarely progressed things through midfield until Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada were introduced.
It was a similar story against Fredrikstad in qualifying and while the Cypriot side did defend well, Palace must find that magic spark on the continent.
‘We played against a very deep block, so it was not easy to create 10 chances,’ Glasner said. ‘We still had chances, but we were not clinical enough.’
Profligacy strikes again
The game changed when Eddie Nketiah, Kamada and Wharton were introduced and the final 20 minutes was a barrage on Larnaca’s goal.
But as has been the case in the Premier League, where Palace have scored 12 times from an xG of 19.10, when they did eventually create openings, they were guilty of spurning them.
Mateta hit the bar from six yards out and had three other opportunities, while Nketiah squandered two late on.
From 15 efforts on goal, just one was on target.
‘For us it’s a little bit of Deja vu,’ the Austrian added. ‘It happens in many games, we create in many games, but we don’t score enough and then we get punished. We must learn and improve.’
Glasner’s ruthless streak
There was much excitement among fans when young French centre back Jaydee Canvot was named in the starting XI.
Canvot, 20, impressed in an EFL Cup tie against Millwall in his only other appearance, and with Marc Guehi set to leave next summer, this campaign will be useful as he adapts to English football before hopefully becoming a regular next season.
But after enduring a couple of shaky moments in the first half, disaster struck early in the second.
The Frenchman inexplicably gave the ball away in a dangerous area and was punished by Bajic’s stunner in what was a real sucker punch.
Just minutes later Glasner substituted him, although he later said the move was tactical.
The Austrian did something similar to Romaine Esse at half-time last month against Millwall when unhappy with the youngster’s display.
