AEK Larnaca stunned Selhurst Park as the Cypriot minnows nicked a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace in the UEFA Conference League.
It’s a result Palace will only have themselves to blame for, as Jaydee Canvot, 19, – who was making just his second Eagles start – cheaply gave away possession in the second half, resulting in Riad Bajic’s superb arrowing winner.
In what was Palace’s first major European home match, the Eagles didn’t rise to the occasion, failing to record an effort on target until the 70th minute.
Unable to muster the kind of impressive fightback on show in their weekend Premier League draw against Bournemouth, Palace slumped to their third successive game without a win, following the end of their 19-match unbeaten run at Everton earlier this month.
The result was also a first defeat at Selhurst Park for Palace since February.
How Larnaca stunned Palace
Palace walked out to a raucous atmosphere that quickly grew uncertain as they failed to convert their dominance in possession to clear-cut chances.
Jean-Philippe Mateta, who entered the game in red-hot form, having scored a hat-trick vs Bournemouth after netting his first goal for France.
He had the best of the first-half opportunities but shanked at his volley, meaning it hit the bar but didn’t challenge an inspired Zlatan Alomerovic’s net.
Larnaca’s goal came in period of ascendancy for the home team. A rare touch of the ball for Dean Henderson saw him play in Canvot, who nervously gifted possession to Marcus Rohden.
Rohden spotted his striker free and Bajic’s left peg beat a backtracking Henderson. Glasner called on the calvary with Eddie Nketiah, the hero against Dynamo Kyiv, called upon to impact the game. His impact resulted in Palace’s first few efforts on goal as the Eagles chased. Alomerovic kept out Mateta before Nketiah glanced wide from a Marc Guehi cross.
Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada were also reluctantly introduced by Glasner but to no avail. Instead, a unique brand of gamesmanship and craft undid Palace, who tasted a different challenge to break down a side while boasting the majority of possession.
Until the last, Palace were unsettled by Larnaca’s insistence on breaking up rhythm with tackles and drawing cheap challenges.
The defeat tees up a difficult run of games for Palace, who travel to Arsenal this weekend before a trip to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup next week, all live on Sky Sports.
More to follow…
