Two goals down before Palace woke up
Pierre Sage went back to the club that sacked him and lost 3-2. Lyon beat Crystal Palace at the Groupama Stadium on Thursday 15 October, and the one-goal margin hides how poor Palace's first 45 minutes were. Palace did not register a shot on target in the first half, Sky Sports reported, and by the break they were 2-0 down.
Corentin Tolisso opened the scoring in the 8th minute. Ernest Nuamah won a corner, Jaydee Canvot and Tyrick Mitchell both failed to clear, and the Lyon captain prodded the loose ball past goalkeeper Benítez, according to The Guardian's live coverage. Nuamah then doubled the lead in the 2nd minute of first-half stoppage time, beating Mitchell to a Keito Nakamura cross from the left.
Sage did not hide from it. "It was a game of two different halves," he told his post-match press conference, per Crystal Palace's official site. "We were absent in the first-half. The second-half is more like what we're used to seeing."
A comeback that ran out of road
Palace were better after the interval. Yéremy Pino pulled one back six minutes into the second half, slamming in after Adam Wharton slipped a short-corner pass through to him, The Guardian and Sky Sports both reported. Daichi Kamada, sent on with Eddie Nketiah around the hour, then had a strong penalty claim waved away when Nuamah bundled him over, and VAR did not intervene.
Dominik Greif saved from Kamada at point-blank range before Lyon struck against the run of play. Substitute Pavel Sulc flicked in the third in the 76th minute, played onside by a retreating Axel Disasi, per The Guardian. Kamada made it 3-2 in the 81st minute, and Chris Richards almost forced a draw with a 90th-minute header from a Wharton corner that Greif kept out, BBC Sport reported.
"We were nowhere near our usual standards in the first half," Sage told Sky Sports. "I think our second-half efforts deserved an equaliser, although winning would have been a generous reward given that we only really played for one half."
Why this fixture carried extra weight
Around 3,000 Palace fans travelled for the club's first ever away tie in the Europa League, BBC Sport said.
The history sharpened it. Palace won the FA Cup in 2025 but were moved down to the Conference League for 2025-26 because John Textor, then a Palace co-owner, also held a majority stake in Lyon. UEFA kept Lyon in the Europa League because they finished higher in their domestic league. Palace then won the Conference League to earn their place back, BBC Sport noted.
Sage, 47, coached Lyon from November 2023 until January 2025. He still owns a house in the city, The Guardian reported, and he has admitted he "still feels part of Lyon, somehow."
The set-piece problem followed Palace to France. Sky Sports calculated that Palace have conceded 35 set-piece goals in all competitions since the start of last season, a figure bettered only by Chelsea (37) and Newcastle (36) among Premier League sides. Thursday's opener came from a routine corner.
Brighton next, then Beşiktaş
The defeat ended a three-game unbeaten run, Crystal Palace's site confirmed. Wharton captained the side with Dean Henderson injured, and Ismaïla Sarr, making his first start of the season, was booked for protesting a handball call that replays did not support, according to The Guardian.
There may be help coming. Sage said Jean-Philippe Mateta, who missed the trip, is "on track with his rehabilitation" and could feature this weekend. Palace, 12th on seven points, go to third-placed Brighton on Sunday at 14:00 BST. Fabian Hürzeler has not beaten Palace in four Premier League meetings, losing three, BBC Sport noted. Palace then travel to Beşiktaş next Thursday in the Europa League.
"We have to turn the page quickly and take the lesson," Sage said. "Now the most important game is the game in Brighton."
Key facts
- Result: Lyon 3-2 Crystal Palace, Europa League league phase, Thursday 15 October 2026.
- Lyon goals: Tolisso 8', Nuamah 45+2', Sulc 76'.
- Palace goals: Pino 51', Kamada 81'.
- Palace had no shot on target in the first half (Sky Sports).
- Kamada penalty claim against Nuamah turned down, VAR did not intervene.
- Richards' 90th-minute header saved by Greif (BBC Sport).
- About 3,000 travelling fans for Palace's first away Europa League tie.
- Sage coached Lyon from November 2023 to January 2025.
- Palace have conceded 35 set-piece goals since the start of last season (Sky Sports).
- Mateta could return at Brighton on Sunday, 14:00 BST.
- Next in Europe: Beşiktaş away, Thursday 22 October.
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