Imanol Idiakez’s defence entered this match having only been breached once in this competition, with that record including 180 goalless minutes for Palace. And Larnaca’s proud record had to withstand some early pressure, as Ismaïla Sarr sent the game’s first attempt into the side netting.
They were finally beaten in the 14th minute though, as Sarr raced behind to latch onto Adam Wharton’s deflected pass, before touching the ball away from Zlatan Alomerovic and sliding it into the net.
The Eagles largely remained in control and momentarily thought they had a second just eight minutes later, but Sarr strayed marginally offside before heading home Daichi Kamada’s cross from deep, then saw Chris Richards head wide from his dinked cross.
With the Yellow-Greens trying to ask questions going the other way, Riad Bajic met Angel Garcia’s cross but headed straight at Walter Benitez, before Dorde Ivanovic blazed an attempt horribly off-target having initially done well to jink inside.
However, Maxence Lacroix still forced a double save from Alomerovic as the break approached, and Palace continued carrying a threat after it.
Sarr smashed a shot against Evann Guessand and Kamada struck wide, while Jorgen Strand Larsen was let down by a poor touch having got himself into a promising position.
That wastefulness was punished just after the hour mark, when Enric Saborit authoritatively rose to meet Marcus Rohden’s corner and power his header into the bottom corner.
Alomerovic made a double save to deny Wharton and Daniel Munoz as the visitors looked for a response, and just 11 minutes after restoring parity, Saborit was sent off having earned his second booking; both were for pulling Sarr.
Sarr then squandered a golden opportunity from a Munoz cutback before seeing a header cleared off the line as the contest was forced into extra time, where Sarr was left frustrated again after getting too much on his header when the winger was finally found by a dinked Yeremy Pino pass.
But those frustrations were finally lifted in the 99th minute, when Sarr guided Kamada’s fizzed cutback past Alomerovic with a clinical first-time finish.
Sarr and Strand Larsen both hit the woodwork as the Eagles sought a killer third, but the hosts couldn’t test Benitez as Palace secured the first win from their last three matches across all competitions to set up a UECL quarter-final against Fiorentina.
To put an ignominious slant on Larnaca’s exit, there were objects thrown from the home fans late on and Petros Ioannou was sent off for his tackle on Jean-Philippe Mateta, as the Cypriots were denied their first-ever progression to the last eight of a major UEFA competition.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace)
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