LYON, France - Japan attacker Keito Nakamura set up two goals as Lyon beat Crystal Palace 3-2 at home in the league phase of the Europa League on Thursday, with Daichi Kamada coming off the bench to get a goal back for the visitors.
Nakamura created a gap and sent a low cross from the left for Ernest Nuamah to steer home in first-half stoppage time at Groupama Stadium, helping Lyon double their lead after Corentin Tolisso's eighth-minute opener from a corner.
Yeremy Pino fired high into the net for Palace in the 50th minute before Nakamura's shot was turned in by Pavel Sulc in the 76th minute as Lyon got the crucial third.
Kamada, a 62nd-minute substitute, prodded home a loose ball in the 81st minute for Palace as the midfielder scored for the second straight game following his first Premier League goal on Sunday, but it was not enough to avoid defeat.
Japan defender Koki Machida, who returned in September after a 13-month layoff following a left anterior cruciate ligament rupture, headed in an 88th-minute corner for his first goal for Hoffenheim in the German side's 3-2 home loss to Besiktas.
In the Conference League, Japan attacker Takumi Minamino also returned to action after nursing the same injury suffered in December as Monaco hung on to a 2-1 win away to CSKA Sofia in the league phase.
The former Liverpool man, who accompanied the Japan squad as a mentor during this summer's World Cup, was involved in both Paris Brunner's third-minute opener and Ansu Fati's 44th-minute second for Monaco in Bulgaria.
