Crystal Palace beat Dynamo Kyiv in Conference League opener
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Eddie Nketiah of Crystal Palace celebrates with Chris Richards and Yeremy Pino after scoring in the Conference League win over Dynamo Kyiv.
PHOTO: EPA
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PARIS – Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner does not care about unbeaten runs, simply because he prefers to look ahead to what is coming.
On Oct 2, his side launched their first full venture into European football with a 2-0 win over Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv in Poland 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.
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.
“I’m proud 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,” said Glasner.
“We don’t prefer any competition... We always want to win the next game and I just told the players now after the game, ‘Congratulations for this good start’.”
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 English 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 Oct 23.
The Eagles will also face Dutch club AZ Alkmaar, French side Strasbourg, Irish outfit Shelbourne and Finland’s Kuopion Palloseura.
Palace, the only unbeaten team left in the Premier League, next travel to Everton on Oct 5.
In the Europa League, Aston Villa won 2-0 at Dutch giants Feyenoord, but Nottingham Forest lost 3-2 at home to Danish side Midtjylland.
Emi Buendia curled in from 20 metres and John McGinn swept in a second goal in Rotterdam as Villa made a winning return to the scene of their 1982 European Cup triumph.
Villa failed to win any of their first six games of the season, but Unai Emery’s side have since reeled off three successive victories. They are among seven teams on a maximum six points in the Europa League.
“I am so, so happy, because Europe is like that, it’s difficult,” said Emery. “You have to be very, very competitive.
“You have to keep strongly your game plan and try to adapt, competing against the opponent, and playing away more, and we did it.
“We did everything we were planning, everything.”
Forest paid the price for sloppy defending at set pieces as Midtjylland won at the City Ground to leave new manager Ange Postecoglou still searching for his first win.
Defenders Ousmane Diao and Mads Bech scored either side of Dan Ndoye’s goal, with Midtjylland punishing Forest for failing to deal with a free kick and a corner.
Valdemar Andreasen netted the decisive goal two minutes from time as Chris Wood pulled one back for Forest from the spot in stoppage time.
“Really disappointing. Just really, really poor goals we conceded in the first half,” said Postecoglou.
“Story of our last few games – key moments let us down.” AFP
