Crystal Palace made the perfect start to their Conference League campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv.
Goals in either half from Daniel Munoz and Eddie Nketiah ensured their first-ever major European fixture went off without a hitch as Oliver Glasner’s side underlined their title credentials.
Despite breaking new ground, Palace looked assured on their major European debut and extended their unbeaten run to a club record 19 games with a professional performance at the Lublin Arena.
Palace weren’t at their thrilling best in the first-half as Dynamo Kyiv demanded they break them down, but just past the half-hour, Munoz broke the deadlock with a towering header from Yeremy Pino’s pinpoint cross.
The Eagles’ flying wing-backs give them a different dimension, and minutes after Munoz’s goal, Borna Sosa nearly scored a second from the opposite flank, latching onto Adam Wharton’s clipped pass.
Wharton has been working his way back to full fitness following a groin issue but has started to find his rhythm on the eve of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad announcement.
The 21-year-old strolled through the game and should really have had an assist to show for his efforts, with Nketiah’s low finish narrowly ruled offside after Wharton picked him out on the top of the box.
If Wharton’s injury just before the last international break was bad timing, his recent run of form has come at just the right moment.
Palace were dominant against a poor Dynamo Kyiv side, even after Sosa’s second-half dismissal gave the hosts encouragement.
The south Londoners are among the favourites for the competition and played with an air of authority in Poland that suggests they will make a good fist of following in the footsteps of England’s two Conference League winners, West Ham and Chelsea.
As Palace fans will attest to, albeit through gritted teeth, they have a team capable of challenging for the Europa League, let alone the Conference League.
From Pino’s piece of skill to set up Nketiah’s 58th-minute goal to Daichi Kamada’s delightful slinking run in first-half stoppage-time, Palace can be inventive as well as industrious.
They are well set up, but they are also stacked full of ability, and they will take some stopping as they look to make more history in Europe.
Palace have two home games against AEK Larnaca and AZ Alkmaar to consolidate their standing in the league phase, and on the evidence of tonight’s display, they will have little trouble navigating their way into the knockout stages.
