Crystal Palace had to settle for a play-off place in the Conference League after drawing 2-2 with 10-man KuPS at Selhurst Park on Thursday.
Despite the late introduction of the likes of Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eddie Nketiah, Palace were unable to find a way past the KuPS defense as they finished 10th at the stage of the competition.
Palace hit the front in stunning fashion with just five minutes on the clock when Christantus Uche curled a sensational effort with the outside of his foot into the top left corner.
Oliver Glasner’s team almost punished KuPS’ attempt to play from the back, but Ibrahim Cisse’s heroic block prevented Uche from getting his second of the match.
But despite going into half-time, Palace were surprised by two goals in three minutes, the first of which came from Piotr Parzyszek in the 50th minute.
Parzyszek finished into the roof of the net after good work from Saku Savolainen before Cisse turned Clinton Antwi’s shot on target past Walter Benitez with an improvised tap-in.
KuPS thought they had put the game beyond doubt in the 68th minute when Parzyszek came in at the back post, but the goal was disallowed for offside after a VAR review.
Palace were given a lifeline when Antwi was shown a straight red card in the 73rd minute for a foul on Will Hughes, with his follow-up effort catching the midfielder high on the leg.
And the Eagles made the man advantage count almost immediately when Justin Devenny nodded Tyrick Mitchell’s cross past Johannes Kreidl at the back post.
Devenny and Nketiah both saw glorious chances in second-half stoppage time, repelled by KuPS goalkeeper Kreidl, as the visitors held on to also qualify for the play-offs.
Our final competition phase in the Conference League ends at level. pic.twitter.com/AYObdjcQHV
— Crystal Palace FC (@CPFC) December 18, 2025
Data debrief: Youngsters impress, but Palace paid the price
Ahead of kick-off, Glasner stressed the importance of player welfare within his Palace squad as his team embark on a three-match run in all competitions over the next five days, and some of his changes impressed despite the result.
One of these was Joel Drakes-Thomas, with the 16-year-old finishing the match with a team-high total number of crosses (seven), while also creating two chances, a total equaled by four other Palace players in the match.
Devenny also cemented his name as a regular in the starting lineup with a goal and an assist, while Romain Esse completed more dribbles (three) and won more duels (11) than any other player for the Eagles, who were left to rue a plethora of missed opportunities.
They finished the match with an expected goals total (xG) of 1.57 from their 14 shots and KuPS’ 0.26 from their three attempts. The Finnish side had failed to score in their last four European away games but gave their traveling support something to cheer about in the capital.
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