Crystal Palace hit four in Europa League rout

Palace survived an early scare before taking control of the game. Lech should have opened the scoring inside two minutes when Mikael Ishak failed to convert Patrik Walemark's cross, sending his effort wide with the goal at his mercy.

The Eagles soon put the pressure on and took the lead after 10 minutes. Terry Yegbe made a costly mistake with a throw-in, playing the ball straight to Yeremy Pino, who calmly finished to score Palace's first Europa League goal.

The goal also ended Pino's 27-game wait for a club goal.

Lech continued to threaten and Ishak missed another excellent opportunity in the 21st minute, lifting a half-volley over the bar after breaking through one-on-one.

Palace punished them again six minutes later. Adam Wharton delivered a dangerous corner and Chris Richards rose highest to head home his first goal in European competition.

The hosts were now in complete control and added a third in the 33rd minute. Pino was brought down inside the penalty area by Radoslaw Murawski, allowing Jorgen Strand Larsen to step up and smash the penalty into the top corner.

It was Strand Larsen's fourth goal in three matches and Palace looked capable of adding even more before half-time.

Lech briefly thought they had conceded a fourth when Yegbe accidentally diverted the ball into his own net from distance, but the goal was ruled out after Strand Larsen had been caught offside earlier in the move.

The visitors tried to respond after the break, knowing they needed a goal to give themselves a chance of recovering from the deficit.

Pino came close to adding another in the 66th minute, but Michal Gurgul produced an excellent sliding challenge to prevent the Palace forward from finishing.

Sage then introduced Ismaila Sarr, with the forward making his first appearance of the season after recovering from a groin injury. Sarr had been Palace's leading scorer in last season's Conference League campaign.

Eddie Nketiah also came on and went close before dragging an effort wide of the far post, while Lech goalkeeper Walter Benitez made a sharp low save to deny Gurgul.

Lech's frustration boiled over late on when Murawski was sent off after receiving a second yellow card.

Palace completed the rout in the 89th minute when Nketiah found the bottom corner to make it 4-0.

The result ended a difficult run of home form for Palace, who had won only one of their previous five matches at Selhurst Park.

Their European record at home, however, remains strong. The Eagles have now gone seven European matches without defeat at Selhurst Park, with five wins and two draws.

Lech's six-match unbeaten away run in European competition came to an emphatic end as Palace produced a convincing performance to launch their Europa League campaign in style.