Pierre Sage suffered a painful defeat against his former club as Crystal Palace fell 3-2 to Lyon in the Europa League. Lyon raced into a two-goal lead through Corentin Tolisso and Ernest Nuamah, the first in the eighth minute and the second just before half-time. Palace offered little in the first half and failed to register a shot on target.
Palace reignited their hopes after the interval. Yeremy Pino pulled a goal back with a fine near-post strike in the 50th minute, and Daichi Kamada halved the deficit with under 10 minutes remaining, after a penalty appeal against Nuamah was waved away. Pavel Sulc had restored Lyon's two-goal cushion earlier, flicking home Keito Nakamura's shot in the 76th minute.
The result hurts Palace more than most. Sage, who was sacked by the club in January 2025, faced the side that cost Palace their Europa League place last season, owing to former co-owner John Textor also holding a majority stake in the Ligue 1 club.
Sage admitted the performance was well below standard. "We were nowhere near our usual standards in the first half," he said. "We improved considerably after the break and gave ourselves a chance, but conceding that third goal made things difficult." Palace now turn their attention to a derby against Brighton this Sunday, live on Sky Sports, before a tough trip to Besiktas in their next European outing.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing