LONDON — Crystal Palace recorded their first-ever home victory in the main stage of a European competition as Ismaila Sarr struck twice in a commanding 3–1 win over AZ Alkmaar in the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Following a shock defeat to AEK Larnaca last month, the Eagles came out determined to make amends, dominating the early stages at Selhurst Park.

Sarr was at the heart of Palace’s strong start — first rattling the post before drawing a foul from Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro to win a penalty after a lengthy VAR check confirmed no offside. However, the AZ goalkeeper redeemed himself moments later, diving low to his left to deny Jean-Philippe Mateta, who appeared unsettled after a delayed whistle.

Palace continued to pile on the pressure, with Sarr forcing another fine save from Owusu-Oduro and Will Hughes striking the crossbar with a dipping volley.

The breakthrough finally came in the 22nd minute, when Maxence Lacroix fired home from close range after Marc Guehi’s knockdown from a long throw. VAR confirmed the goal after checking for offside — Lacroix’s first since December.

The technology was called upon again just before half-time as Sarr doubled Palace’s advantage, prodding in from close range following a clever sequence of headers from Jefferson Lerma and Lacroix.

AZ showed resilience after the restart, pulling one back through Sven Mijnans, whose deflected shot looped over Dean Henderson following a scramble in the box.

But any hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed when Sarr restored Palace’s two-goal cushion midway through the second half. The Senegalese forward latched onto Mateta’s incisive through ball before calmly slotting past Owusu-Oduro to claim his second brace in three matches.

Manager Oliver Glasner’s side comfortably managed the closing stages to secure a third consecutive victory, climbing to ninth place in the standings ahead of their upcoming derby clash with Brighton. The defeat leaves AZ dropping to 27th overall in the Conference League rankings.