Evan Gesand, Tyrick Mitchell and Chris Richards wasted a golden opportunity when they were booed for their performance for Crystal Palace after their side drew 0-0 in the last-16 first leg with Larnaca at Selhurst Park.
High winds and heavy rain did little to the Eagles’ cause, but so did coach Oliver Glassner’s team. Brennan Johnson’s experimental hybrid wingback role backfired in Daniel Munoz’s absence. Meanwhile, Jean-Philippe Mateta, making his first appearance since failing to join Milan on deadline day, was also jeered by some in the crowd.
Everything could have been different if Gesand had fired home Jorgen Strand Larsen’s cross in the eighth minute, but it took another 34 minutes for Palace to create their second chance of note, as Gesand fired straight at Zlatan Alomelovic.
Daichi Kamata’s damaged shot caught the opponent’s defense and found Mitchell’s run in the closing stages. Mitchell should have finished higher for his first goal, but was saved by the outstretched leg of Alomerovic.
Palace briefly took control at the start of the second period, creating a number of half-chances before Richards headed Johnson’s corner kick from just six yards out.
Larnaca almost gave new head coach Javi Lozada a dream debut in the dugout in the dying moments when Enzo Cabrera’s header narrowly deflected off Richards.
Glasner: Larnaca was never going to fall for us.
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner told TNT Sports:
“If a team only conceded one goal in the group stage, they won’t concede three or four against us. We have to be patient and learn from this game.
“We didn’t know how the new manager was going to play, but we expect him to play in the same style and play the same way as he did in the first leg, so we’ll probably have to adapt to that. I think the performance was absolutely fine. Maybe not a top, top performance, but it was OK.”
“We were very well organized. We didn’t give them the transition they were looking for. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy to create scoring chances. I think we had chances to score. I think we had two, but credit also to the keeper, especially in the first half when he made two big saves.”
Lozada: We can achieve something special in the second leg
AEK Larnaca coach Javi Lozada:
“I want to congratulate the players. I didn’t have much time to play with the team so I didn’t have much of a chance to prepare. I only had two chances to train before the game, the first time was in Cyprus and the other time was today in England.
“It’s a great effort from everyone. We have a great opportunity to achieve something special for Cypriot football next Thursday in Cyprus.”
Palace have outperformed most English teams in Europe but have had the most disappointing result.
Callum Bishop on Sky Sports:
“Only four English teams avoided defeat in Europe this week – Arsenal, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace – but somehow the Eagles left with the most disappointing result.
“Arsenal and Newcastle drew against strong opponents in Bayer Leverkusen and Barcelona. Villa won a decisive away victory. Even the losing teams achieved victories against tough opponents. Two of those games were against Real Madrid and PSG.”
“Still, people would have backed Palace to do well because on paper the gap with Larnaca this week was as big as any two teams in Europe.
“Irrespective of the fact that Larnaca had beaten Palace earlier in the competition, this was a chance for revenge. But if anything, this was even worse because not the slightest bit of extra motivation showed itself.
“There’s a lot of talk about players not playing for a manager, but that never happened under Coach Glasner and probably never will. But it’s clear that the dramatic end to his tenure is having an impact on these players and it feels like they’re walking in slow motion towards the end of this chapter in the club’s history.”
When is the knockout stage?
Round of 16 second leg: March 19th Quarter-finals: April 9th and 16th Semi-finals: April 30th and May 7th Final: May 27th (Red Bull Arena, Leipzig)
