•Crystal Palace players
Crystal Palace launched their first full venture into European football with a 2-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv in Poland yesterday in the UEFA Conference League.
Colombian wing-back Daniel Munoz’s brilliant towering header in the first half put Palace ahead in Lublin, where Dynamo are playing their home games in Europe this season because of the war in Ukraine, reports AFP.
Eddie Nketiah grabbed a second just before the hour, stabbing in another cross from the excellent Yeremy Pino, as Palace set a new club record run of 19 matches unbeaten.
Borna Sosa though picked up two yellow cards in quick succession to leave Palace with 10 men for the final 15 minutes.
Palace qualified for Europe after beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final last season, but were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League after breaching UEFA rules on multi-club ownership.
The Premier League club’s only previous experience of continental competition was one home-and-away tie in the Intertoto Cup back in 1998.
Palace are among the favourites for the Conference League title and are due to host AEK Larnaca of Cyprus in their next game in the league phase on October 23.
The Eagles will also face Dutch club AZ Alkmaar, French side Strasbourg, Irish outfit Shelbourne and Finland’s KuPS.
