Crystal Palace defeats Dynamo Kyiv in Conference League

LONDON: Crystal Palace opened their Conference League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kyiv in Poland on Thursday.

Colombian wing-back Daniel Munoz gave Palace the lead in the first half with a towering header in Lublin, where Dynamo are staging their European home games due to the war in Ukraine.

Eddie Nketiah added a second just before the hour mark, heading in another cross hour, from the excellent Yeremy Pino, as Palace extended their unbeaten run to a new club record of 19 matches.

Meanwhile, left-sided wing Borna Sosa, though he picked up two yellow cards in quick succession, left Palace with 10 men for the final 15 minutes.

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner praised his team for their outstanding performance.

Speaking at a news conference, he said: "I'm proud that we could start the Conference League away against a very good opponent. I don't think about this (unbeaten) run, because it has already happened, so for me it is important what comes next."

"We always want to win the next game and I just told the players 'congratulations for this good start.' We have huge respect for Dynamo Kyiv, so playing away, starting with a win is very positive,” he added.

Palace qualified for Europe after defeating Manchester City in the FA cup final last season, but dropped into the Conference League after breaching UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.

The Premier League club’s only previous experience in continental competition was one home-and-away tie in the Intertoto Cup back in 1998.

Now, among the favourites for the Conference League crown, Palace will host AEK Larnaca in their next league phase game on October 23.