A 10-man Besiktas held Crystal Palace to a 2-2 draw at home Thursday in the third matchday of the UEFA Europa League’s league phase, maintaining their unbeaten start to the competition.
The Turkish side entered the match with two consecutive victories over Marseille and Hoffenheim, while Palace had three points from their opening two matches.
The visitors thought they had taken the lead in the sixth minute, when Jean-Philippe Mateta tapped home from close range, but the goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR review.
Besiktas suffered an injury setback in the 39th minute when Fabio Miretti was forced off and replaced by Salih Ozcan.
However, the hosts took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Wilfred Ndidi latched onto Ozcan’s long pass from inside his own half before racing through and firing a left-footed shot past Walter Benitez.
Palace responded strongly after the break, equalizing in the 51st minute when Yeremy Pino converted from close range following a low cross by Anan Khalaili.
Just four minutes later, Mateta capitalized on Tiago Djalo’s misplaced back-pass and fired into the top corner to complete a quick turnaround for the visitors.
Besiktas fought back in the 73rd minute when substitute Junior Olaitan collected a clearance outside the penalty area, skipped past two challenges and struck a powerful shot into the bottom corner to make it 2-2.
However, the Black Eagles were reduced to 10 men four minutes later when Umit Akdag received a straight red card for a foul on substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Besiktas held on to secure a point and extend their unbeaten Europa League run to three matches.
The result lifted Besiktas to seven points and eighth place in the league phase standings, while Crystal Palace moved to four points in 15th.
Thursday’s results
Ararat Armenia 0-4 AZ Alkmaar
Dinamo Zagreb 2-4 NEC Nijmegen
Ferencvaros 4-1 Torreense
Juventus 2-2 Rennes
Lech Poznan 1-1 Sunderland
OFI Crete 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Sturm Graz 1-0 Marseille
Union Saint-Gilloise 4-0 Hapoel Beer Sheva
Bournemouth 3-0 AC Milan
Besiktas 2-2 Crystal Palace
Celtic 1-2 Celta Vigo
Hoffenheim 3-0 Lyon
Jagiellonia Bialystok 0-3 Anderlecht
Lillestrom 0-6 Real Sociedad
NK Celje 2-2 Salzburg
Olympiacos 1-0 Sparta Prague
Omonia Nicosia 1-4 Benfica
Viktoria Plzen 1-2 Levski Sofia