Guehi: Shock Conference League defeat to Larnaca an opportunity for Palace to learn

Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi could understand his team's frustrations after seeing their first European game at Selhurst Park end in a 1-0 defeat to AEK Larnaca. 

In front of an expectant crowd, Oliver Glasner's side fell short against their Cypriot opponents, who claimed all three points thanks to Riad Bajic's 51st-minute strike. 

The winning goal came after a mistake by Jaydee Canvot, who gifted possession to Marcus Rohden, with the ball finding its way to Bajic to fire past Dean Henderson.

But Palace had their chances throughout, with last weekend's hat-trick hero Jean-Philippe Mateta thundering against the crossbar with a volley in the 21st minute. 

Mateta also narrowly headed a free-kick wide just before the break and was denied by keeper Zlatan Alomerovic's stunning save from point-blank range 20 minutes from time. 

Glasner turned to his bench and introduced Eddie Nketiah, who should have salvaged at least a point for Palace late on, only to miss a loose ball from five yards out. 

The hosts registered an expected goals (xG) total of 1.66 from their 15 shots, though only one of those were on target, compared to Larnaca's 0.17 from their four attempts.

The result marked Palace's first defeat in front of their home supporters in all competitions since February, though Guehi believes lessons will be learned from the defeat. 

"They scored. We didn't, it's that simple, that's it. Every team comes with a different type of game plan. Today it was a team that sat back," Palace captain Guehi said.

"They did well, they frustrated us. Even though they did that, we still could have scored. It's an opportunity for us to learn and move on.

"I can't really blame him [Canvot]. I thought he played well today. That is not down to him, it is every single one of us. We will all take that burden and move on.

"We always believe right to the end, and we have proved it in different games. Just today it wasn't. This is all good. You get to learn.

"It is a new experience for the club and, hopefully, we have more that we can grow from these competitions.

"When it's 0-0 and you feel you should be winning, it is understandable to feel frustration, not only fans, us on the pitch.

"Everyone had the same feeling. It is a good opportunity to learn and understand that these European games are tough no matter who you play against."

Palace's defeat leaves them down in 16th in the 36-team league standings after their first two games in Europe, while Larnaca are joint-top with Fiorentina on six points. 

And with a testing trip to face Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday, Glasner is hopeful that his team can rediscover their clinical edge in the final third. 

"That is European football. You have to learn from it. Small mistakes get punished and, on the other hand, we had enough chances to win the game," Glasner added.  

"It is not just the story of today but many games. The effort was here, we were creating situations against a deep block.

"We had four or five big opportunities to score, and we didn't, and we made one mistake, and you can lose a game like this.

"It is part of the game. Nobody is blaming [Canvot] him, it just happens. The finish was excellent. If you don't score you can't win. We lost a point today.

"It is disappointing, it is frustrating, and it hurts, but on the other hand, we keep going. We have enough games.

"We had enough clear chances and then you lose sometimes. We have to learn from it."