LONDON (Interstat) — Crystal Palace FC defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 on Thursday in their Europa League opener at Selhurst Park in Croydon. The victory gave Crystal Palace a 1-0 record in the competition while Shakhtar fell to 0-1.

Pedro Henrique opened the scoring in the 25th minute for the visitors, but Eguinaldo equalized for Crystal Palace in the 34th minute. Ismaïla Sarr put the hosts ahead in the 52nd minute with the decisive goal. Valerii Bondar was shown a yellow card for Shakhtar in the 15th minute.

Crystal Palace improved to 1-0 across all competitions, while Shakhtar dropped to 0-1 overall. The result marked a strong start for the London side in European play.