Crystal Palace 0-1 AEK Larnaca: Selhurst's European bow falls flat

LONDON -- Crystal Palace's first Conference League match at Selhurst Park ended up being a game to forget as they suffered a 1-0 loss to Cypriot side AEK Larnaca.

Oliver Glasner named a strong lineup, making three changes to the side that drew against Bournemouth on the weekend. But it was one of the new additions, Jaydee Canvot, whose error led to the decisive Larnaca goal.

His errant pass led to an opening for Riad Balic who unleashed a ferocious shot past Dean Henderson soon after the break.

The defeat means Palace have now won just once in their last four matches in all competitions.

Palace learn there are no easy nights in Europe

If you're a stickler for accuracy, this was Palace's third European game at Selhurst Park. The 2-0 defeat to Samsunspor in 1998 in the Intertoto Cup was their first. That game can be asterisked, given Palace were coming off a Premier League season in which they had finished bottom and only qualified for the tournament by virtue of applying for it. The Eagles also hosted Fredrikstad in their August playoff to make sure of their place in this competition.

But then again, Palace didn't technically qualify for this year's Conference League. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) demoted them from the Europa League for breaking UEFA's multi-club ownership rules, with Nottingham Forest taking their place.

The unsavoury chants towards UEFA and Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis from the Palace fans were evidence that wound still smarts. Palace might consider themselves above the Conference League but the loss to Larnaca was a reminder that there are no easy games in Europe.

Larnaca scored with one of their two shots on target and comfortably kept the Palace attackers at bay.

It's easy to dub a team eighth in the Premier League losing to a side fifth in the Cypriot first division as an upset, but that would be disregarding the European pedigree of a side that reached the knockout round of this competition in 2022-23, played Champions League qualifiers last season and beat AZ Alkmaar 4-0 earlier this month.

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Selhurst streak snapped

In the space of a couple of weeks, Palace have had two winning streaks broken. Their defeat to Everton before the international break ended their 19-game unbeaten run in all competitions, while the defeat to Larnaca brought an end to their winning run at Selhurst Park which stretched back to Feb. 15.

Prior to the loss to Larnaca, Palace were tied on the second-longest unbeaten run at home (W5-D5-L0) in their history.

Late drama has been a feature at Selhurst Park this season, with Glasner's side scoring 97th-minute goals against Liverpool and Bournemouth in the Premier League. But the hosts' late attacking onslaught failed to inspire a way past a stubborn Larnaca defence.

Is Palace's squad too thin for a European campaign?

In his pre-match news conference, Oliver Glasner said he won't be rotating his lineup too much despite their packed fixture list.

While the likes of Marc Guéhi, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Dean Henderson all started, the usual midfield duo of Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada were left on the bench. Will Hughes fared well in Wharton's absence but Palace sorely missed the thrust the midfielder gives their attack from deep.

However, it was the change at the back that proved decisive. Chris Richards was replaced by 19-year-old Canvot for only his second-start this season -- the first coming in the Carabao Cup -- and he was at fault for Larnaca's goal. It was Palace's third error in the last five games that has led to a goal.

The loss was a reminder that this Palace squad could struggle to compete domestically and in Europe. They struggled to replenish the squad in the summer, ranking among the lowest spenders in the Premier League in the transfer window. The tight purse and thin squad could prove to be their undoing this season.

Key stats

• Mateta was very active in the first half for Palace. His 11 passes completed were more than he had in the first half of the previous three games combined (nine). His 19 touches were his most so far this season at half-time in all competitions (excluding Community Shield)

• Palace have had an error leading to a goal in three of their last five games in all competitions, including back-to-back games (also vs. Bournemouth). Palace had 0 errors leading to a goal in their eight games prior to this season (excluding Community Shield)

• Glasner's side have won just one of their last 12 games in which they have been trailing at any point since the start of 2025 (W1, D5, L5). Their sole comeback win in that span was a 4-2 victory on May 20 over Wolves

Information from ESPN's Global Sports Research contributed to this story