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It was worth the wait for Crystal Palace. After being denied their rightful place in the Europa League last season, Pierre Sage’s side made the perfect debut by brushing aside Lech Poznan with a victory that will take some of the heat off their new manager.
The Frenchman has big shoes to fill in replacing Oliver Glasner after his predecessor won three trophies in 12 months and there had been some talk of disquiet behind the scenes following his decision to drop the teenager Jaydee Canvot at the weekend. But while Palace face a testing trip to face in-form Leeds on Sunday having conceded 11 goals from their opening four Premier League matches, they were given a big helping hand by their opponents here well before Radoslaw Murawski was sent off late on for a reckless foul on Canvot.
The result was never in doubt after Poznan gifted Yéremy Pino a goal direct from their own throw-in, with Chris Richards and a Jørgen Strand Larsen penalty making the points safe by half-time. Eddie Nketiah rounded off the comfortable win with a late fourth.
It’s a measure how quickly things have moved on in south London that Palace did not even have the chance to stage a parade to celebrate their Conference League triumph last season. But after a difficult start to the new campaign, the captain, Dean Henderson, had urged supporters to “park the negativity” when he signed a contract extension on Wednesday. The England goalkeeper is expected to be unavailable for a few weeks due to a foot injury and Palace included the 16-year-old prospect Lucca Benetton on their bench alongside the returning Ismaïla Sarr.
Lech’s European campaign started on 21 July and the Polish champions were backed by a vociferous travelling support. They were almost able to celebrate a goal inside the opening two minutes when the captain, Mikael Ishak, fluffed his lines with Walter Benítez’s goal gaping as Palace showed their defensive frailties.
As well as some noise around Sage following Saturday’s defeat to Ipswich, there have been concerns about the atmosphere at Selhurst Park after the disbanding of the influential supporters’ group the Holmesdale Fanatics. But, after Terry Yegbe’s calamitous throw-in straight to the feet of Pino gifted Palace an early lead, they were treated to two more goals before the break. Chris Richards headed in a deep corner from Adam Wharton and Strand Larsen dispatched a penalty after Pino was brought down by Murawski.
There could have been another in spectacular fashion from Yegbe into his own net just before half-time but thankfully for him the assistant flagged for offside. The Poznan fans decided that was the moment to perform the dance they have made famous. After their side’s poor first-half performance, it was no wonder that they preferred to turn their backs.
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At least they could amuse themselves by letting off a series of flares in the second half just as Pino came close to adding his second of the night. The Spanish World Cup-winner was denied by a timely block on the line after Strand Larsen fired over from the edge of the area.
Sarr’s first appearance of the season was greeted with the odd boo after his hopes of a move to Liverpool were dashed in the transfer window. But the reception for the Senegal forward was largely positive and Nketiah came off the bench to make it 4-0 with a minute remaining on a night that Palace will hope can kickstart their campaign under Sage.
