Crystal Palace held 2-2 at Besiktas in Europa League

Crystal Palace came from behind to lead but had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Besiktas in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday in Istanbul, unable to find a winner even after the Turkish club was reduced to 10 men.

Former Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi gave Besiktas the lead in first-half stoppage time, finishing a through ball from Salih Özcan with a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner, according to ESPN’s match report and UEFA’s official match record.

Palace turned the game around early in the second half. Yeremy Pino equalized in the 51st minute with a left-footed finish from the centre of the box after a cross from Anan Khalaili. The goal was awarded following a video review. Four minutes later, Jean-Philippe Mateta put the London club ahead with a left-footed shot into the top left corner.

Besiktas answered in the 73rd minute when Junior Olaitan beat the Palace goalkeeper with a right-footed shot from outside the box.

Besiktas defender Ümit Akdağ was sent off in the 77th minute, 11 minutes after he was booked, but Palace could not turn the extra man into a winner. ESPN’s statistics show Besiktas had 59 per cent of possession, while Palace had eight shots to five, with three on target. The crowd was announced at 38,622.

The draw leaves Besiktas unbeaten with seven points from three matches, eighth in the 36-team league-phase table, according to ESPN’s standings. Palace has four points from a win, a draw and a loss and sits 15th, inside the top 24 places that extend a club’s European campaign beyond the league phase.

Palace returns to Premier League play on Sunday when it hosts Newcastle United at Selhurst Park at 10 a.m. Eastern time (8 a.m. Mountain). Besiktas hosts Istanbul Basaksehir on Monday at noon Eastern (10 a.m. Mountain).

Elsewhere in Thursday’s Europa League action, Bournemouth beat 10-man AC Milan 3-0. In the Champions League on Wednesday, Aston Villa beat Viking 3-1 and Canada’s Alphonso Davies scored as Bayern Munich and Arsenal drew 2-2.

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