Khalaili and Crystal Palace Rout Lech Poznan 4:0 in Europa League

Anan Khalaili enjoyed a successful evening in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, helping Crystal Palace secure a 4:4—correction: 4:0—impressive victory over Lech Poznan at Selhurst Park, in the club's first-ever match in the competition.

Khalaili's performance, as he was substituted in the 61st minute, came just days after leaving the pitch with mixed feelings following a match against Ipswich. Although Khalaili scored his debut Premier League goal, he also faced criticism from some fans over several mistakes, including a massive miss near the end. Against the Polish champions, however, he seemed to put that game behind him.

Palace opened their European campaign in excellent fashion, deciding the match thanks to goals from Yeremy Pino, Chris Richards, and Jørgen Strand Larsen in the first half, before Eddie Nketiah sealed the result near the end. Lech Poznan were reduced to ten men late in the game following a second yellow card shown to Radosław Murawski.

Yahoo gave Khalaili a rating of 6, writing: "A solid performance by Khalaili, who was better defensively than last weekend. The final pass didn't reach him too many times, but this was another energetic display by the Palace player, who continues to do a good job since Daniel Muñoz's departure."

For Palace, this was also an important victory following their home defeat to Ipswich in the previous Premier League round. The team displayed a more controlled defensive game than in recent weeks, and up front capitalized well on their chances on the way to a perfect start to the European campaign. Attention now turns to the intriguing clash against Leeds on Sunday.