Olympique Lyonnais beat Crystal Palace 3-2 in the Europa League on Thursday, scoring twice before half-time and holding off a Palace fightback. Corentin Tolisso, Ernest Nuamah and Pavel Sulc scored for Lyon, while Yéremy Pino and Daichi Kamada replied for Pierre Sage’s side.
Lyon, France: Pierre Sage came back to the club he once managed and left with nothing. His Palace side improved after the break but had already given Lyon too much to do at Groupama Stadium.
Lyon take control
Tolisso opened the scoring in the eighth minute, stabbing in a loose ball from close range after an early corner ricocheted around the six-yard box. Palace were then slow to settle and did not register a shot on target in the first half.
Nuamah doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time, poking in at the near post after Keito Nakamura was freed down the left. Lyon went in at the break 2-0 ahead.
Palace respond, Sulc restores the cushion
Palace came out sharper. Pino finished a short-corner routine past goalkeeper Dominik Greif in the 50th minute to give the visitors a way back into the tie. Sage had made three changes from the side that beat Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, including a first start of the season for Ismaïla Sarr.
Lyon answered in the second half. Sulc turned in a cross from Zachary Athekame to restore the two-goal lead, and Kamada pulled one back in the 81st minute after Anan Khalaili’s cross was only half cleared. Lyon held on for the win.
Next up
Palace now turn back to the league, where they visit Brighton on Sunday, before a European trip to Beşiktaş. For Lyon, the win keeps their campaign moving.
The defeat is a setback for Palace’s European ambitions. They are the Conference League winners who took a Europa League place this season.
Result: Olympique Lyonnais 3-2 Crystal Palace (Tolisso 8′, Nuamah 45+2′, Sulc; Pino 50′, Kamada 81′)
Competition: UEFA Europa League, league phase, matchday 2
Venue: Groupama Stadium, Lyon, October 15, 2026
