Photo via Sky Sports

Palace power past Lech Poznan to win on Europa League debut

Reigning Conference League holders Crystal Palace marked their inaugural fixture in the Europa League with an emphatic 4-0 triumph over Polish titleholders Lech Poznan at Selhurst Park. The visitors squandered a massive opening inside three minutes when Mikael Ishak missed the net from six yards out, a mistake punished soon after when Yeremy Pino seized on Terry Yegbe's errant throw and finished smoothly.

The advantage grew when Chris Richards leapt at the far post to nod home an Adam Wharton corner delivery, followed by Jorgen Strand Larsen converting a penalty into the upper corner after Pino was upended by Radoslaw Murawski.

Murawski's evening worsened when he collected a second yellow card late in the second period, reducing the away side to ten men. Palace promptly exploited the numerical advantage in the closing stages as substitute Eddie Nketiah applied a tidy finish to round off the scoring.

The match also marked a return for Ismaila Sarr, who was brought on alongside Nketiah for his seasonal debut and met with divided reactions from the home crowd following an aborted transfer to Liverpool during the summer window.