Crystal Palace's European campaign suffered another setback as they squandered a lead to lose 2-1 to Strasbourg in the Conference League. Oliver Glasner admitted his side's wastefulness in front of goal has become a recurring problem this season.
Tyrick Mitchell gave Palace a 35th-minute lead, but Ismaila Sarr struck the post after rounding the goalkeeper. Strasbourg equalised after the break through Emanuel Emegha, before Palace hit the woodwork again through Adam Wharton. The hosts snatched victory when Samir El Mourabet scored on the rebound after Julio Enciso's free-kick hit the post.
“Pretty easy [to see where we lost the game] when you twice have the empty goal in front of you,” Glasner said. “It could be, should be 3-1 up and then in the next situation you are one down. We had this too often this season that we didn't decide the game when we could decide it.”
Defeat leaves Palace 18th in the Conference League table with two defeats from four games. Automatic qualification is now out of their hands ahead of matches against Shelbourne and KuPS.
Glasner acknowledged his side cannot rely on clean sheets to progress. “We need more players who show up in scoring goals,” he said. “You can't always rely to keep the clean sheet because the opposition is also doing well. The pressing worked great, but you have to get the reward.”
