Crystal Palace finally got their taste of the Europa League, and it proved worth the wait as Pierre Sage's side eased to a 4-0 victory over Lech Poznan on his competitive debut in charge.
Having been denied the chance to play in the competition last season despite winning the Conference League, Palace made an emphatic entrance into Europe's second-tier tournament, brushing aside their Polish visitors at Selhurst Park in a result that will offer some relief to Sage after a rocky start domestically.
The Frenchman, tasked with succeeding the hugely successful Oliver Glasner following his three trophies in a year at the club, had faced scrutiny after Saturday's defeat to newly promoted Ipswich and reports of unrest surrounding his decision to leave teenager Jaydee Canvot out of the matchday squad. Palace have also conceded 11 goals in their opening four Premier League fixtures this season, leaving question marks over their defensive solidity heading into a tough away trip to in-form Leeds this weekend.
But Poznan made life easy for the hosts on this occasion. Yeremy Pino needed only ten minutes to open the scoring, capitalising on a badly misjudged throw-in from Terry Yegbe that gifted Palace the lead. Chris Richards then doubled the advantage soon after, heading home from a deep Adam Wharton corner to make it 2-0 before the half-hour mark.
Jorgen Strand Larsen, deputising for Jean-Philippe Mateta, added a third from the penalty spot just before the interval after Pino was fouled by Radoslaw Murawski inside the box. Palace nearly had a fourth before the break too, when Yegbe turned the ball into his own net, though the goal was ruled out for offside against Strand Larsen.
Poznan's misery was compounded late on when Murawski was shown a second yellow card for a reckless challenge on Canvot, reducing the visitors to ten men. Eddie Nketiah came off the bench to complete the scoring in the final minute, rounding off a comfortable night for the hosts.
Despite the one-sided nature of the contest, the occasion carried extra significance for Palace, who missed out on staging any celebrations for their Conference League triumph last term before quickly turning their attention to this new challenge. Speaking after the match, Sage reflected on the connection between the club and its supporters heading into the new European campaign.
"I saw a lot of videos about the fans, especially during the journey in the Conference League last year," Sage said. "They were incredible and I want to share the same thing with them this year."
The match also marked the return of Ismaila Sarr, who made his first appearance of the season after a proposed move to Liverpool collapsed during the transfer window. Though he received a mixed reception from parts of the crowd, the overall mood inside Selhurst Park remained positive as Palace secured a morale-boosting win to open their European campaign.
Elsewhere in the competition, Bournemouth produced one of the night's biggest surprises, beating Real Sociedad 2-1 away in San Sebastian thanks to goals from Justin Kluivert and Rayan, despite a late reply from Sergio Gomez. Celtic, meanwhile, suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Ferencvaros, while Juventus thrashed NEC Nijmegen 5-0, with on-loan Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade among the scorers. Sunderland also began their campaign with a narrow 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar.
With the victory, Palace sit second in the newly expanded 36-team league phase after the opening round of matches, as Sage looks to build momentum both in Europe and domestically following a difficult start to the season.
Based on reporting from The Guardian and The Standard.