LONDON: Crystal Palace rediscovered their goalscoring form after a blank against AEK Larnaca last time out, securing a first league phase home win, beating AZ Alkamaar 3-1 on Matchday 2 of UEFA Conference League.
Maxence Lacroix and Ismaila Sarr struck in the first half after AZ keeper Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro had saved a Jean-Philippe Mateta penalty and denied Sarr from close range. Sven Mijnans halved the lead, but Sarr finished a defence-splitting Mateta pass to secure three points and leave AZ with just one win from three games.
Lacroix said that the previous defeat to AEK Larnaca had inspired Palace to fight back against the Dutch side, who went into this season’s UEFA Conference League as one of the pre-tournament favourites with a storng track record in the competition.