Lyon 3-2 Crystal Palace: Sulc Sinks Sage's Side on Groupama Return
Eagles spoil former boss's homecoming
Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage was hoping for a happy return to Lyon on Thursday, but his former club took all three points in the Europa League, beating the Eagles 3-2 at the Groupama Stadium.
Lyon's perfect start to their Europa League campaign continued as they spoiled Sage's homecoming — days after the Palace boss had beaten his own predecessor, Nottingham Forest manager Oliver Glasner, at Selhurst Park in the Premier League on Sunday. The 42-year-old Sage had managed Lyon for 14 months before taking charge at Palace.
Lyon seize control before the break
The hosts were ahead after just eight minutes, as Palace failed to clear Ernest Nuamah's in-swinging corner, allowing Corentin Tolisso to fire in at Walter Benitez's near post for the opener.
Ismaila Sarr saw a header drift wide after the half-hour mark, and the Eagles were dealt a further blow in first-half stoppage time when Keito Nakamura sprinted into the box before squaring to Nuamah for a simple finish that made it 2-0.
The visitors had produced little going forward by that stage — a first half, as the Guardian noted, largely void of any shots on target for Palace. Sarr, who claimed the Conference League golden boot last season, was starting a Crystal Palace game for the first time this season.
Palace respond after the interval
Palace halved the deficit just five minutes into the second half when Adam Wharton played Yeremy Pino into the Lyon penalty area with a brilliant first-time pass, and the Spaniard beat Dominik Greif with an emphatic finish.
Jorgen Strand Larsen missed a huge chance to equalise moments later, heading over from Wharton's corner, while Sarr's driven cross into the six-yard box was expertly pushed away by Greif.
Lyon then regained control and restored their two-goal cushion in the 76th minute, as Nakamura's mishit effort was flicked in by substitute Pavel Sulc. Daichi Kamada teed up a nervy ending after reacting quickest to a loose ball in the box five minutes later, pulling one back for the Eagles with nine minutes remaining.
Chris Richards went mightily close to an equaliser in the final minute of normal time as he connected well with Wharton's corner, but Greif managed to get enough behind his save to keep out the defender's header.
Wide men the difference for Lyon
The contest was fought evenly, with Lyon edging the expected goals (xG) battle 1.71 to 1.58 after both sides recorded four shots on target and created four Opta-defined big chances each. The difference-makers, however, were Lyon's wingers.
Nuamah played a crucial role in Lyon's first goal before scoring a timely second before the break, while Nakamura recorded two assists, even if the second was unintentional. The pair both recorded the joint-most touches in the box among Lyon players (five), while Nakamura created a team-high four chances and completed 100% of his dribbles (2/2).
While Lyon have ended a four-game winless run against English teams in the Europa League, there will be plenty of positives to take for Sage's Palace side, who went toe-to-toe against the fourth-place team in Ligue 1.
Wharton impressed as ever, creating four chances as Palace looked to mount a comeback, but Strand Larsen's failure to hit the target with any of his four shots (team-high) proved costly.