Hoffenheim denied UEFA Europa League victory at Crystal Palace by stoppage-time Daichi Kamada equaliser

Hoffenheim were denied a precious three points in the UEFA Europa League as former Eintracht Frankfurt man Daichi Kamada scored a last-gasp equaliser to earn Crystal Palace a draw at Selhurst Park.

Crystal Palace 1-1 Hoffenheim
Goals: 0-1 Prass 7’, 1-1 Kamada 90’+1
Red card: Wharton 77’

Japan international Kamada had an early opener ruled out for the hosts, but it was Hoffenheim who took the lead when Tim Lemperle’s raking pass found Alexander Prass, whose half-volley squirmed underneath goalkeeper Dean Henderson and crept over the line.

Henderson produced a fine one-handed save to deny Andrej Kramarić midway through the first half, while Fisnik Asllani fired wide early in the second as Hoffenheim continued to cause Palace problems on the counter-attack.

Midfielder Adam Wharton was dismissed 13 minutes from time for a second bookable offence, but Palace salvaged a share of the spoils when Kamada pounced on a loose ball inside the box and prodded beyond Oliver Baumann to leave Hoffenheim on four points from as many league-phase games.

As it happened!

1 - 1

(0 - 1)

Crystal Palace

FINAL

Hoffenheim

Europa League
League phase, Matchday 4 League phase, Matchday 4 Selhurst Park

Full time! Crystal Palace 1-1 Hoffenheim

Ilzer's team are denied all three points in second-half stoppage time. Palace appeared down and out after Wharton's dismissal for a second bookable offence, but former Frankfurt man Kamada struck with only minutes remaining to salvage a point for the English side.

© Mike Hewitt

90'

+ 1

Palace equalise!

Hoffenheim fail to clear a loose ball and Kamada prods home to haul Palace level right at the last. Heartbreak for the visitors at Selhurst Park.

90'

+ 1

Daichi Kamada

GOAL!

1:1

90'

+ 1

Into added time

We're going to have three additional minutes at the end of the second half.

90'

Palace running out of ideas

Have Hoffenheim ridden the storm?

87'

Fields makes Europa bow

The 19-year-old is on for his European debut.

87'

Substitution

Jykese Fields

Wouter Burger

85'

Fans in full voice

The visiting supporters are already celebrating. Hoffenheim, remember, have never beaten an English side in Europe. They're not quite over the line yet, though...

83'

Ilzer uneasy

The home side are seeing a little too much of the ball for Ilzer's liking. The Hoffenheim boss is urging his players to be more composed in possession as they look to see out this narrow win.

80'

Ten minutes left

Palace have a mountain to climb now. Hoffenheim are 10 minutes away from a crucial three points in the Europa League.

Palace down to 10!

Wharton is shown a second yellow card after catching Burger with a flailing arm. The hosts will have to play the last few minutes with 10 players.

© IMAGO/Simon Dael/Shutterstock

76'

Ilzer follows suit

Another two changes for Hoffenheim as Bernardo and Lenz come on. Can the visitors see this out?

76'

Substitution

Cajetan Lenz

Fisnik Asllani

76'

Substitution

Bernardo

Alexander Prass

75'

Double change

Mateta and Ahanor depart. McNeil and Osorio enter the fray as we enter the final 15 minutes.

73'

Palace changes incoming

The Eagles are about to bring on more fresh legs.

71'

Hoffenheim pressure

Asllani's shot is deflected behind for another Hoffenheim corner, but Palace eventually manage to clear their lines.

70'

Ilzer shuffles his pack

The Hoffenheim boss makes his first change of the night as Lemperle makes way for Daghim.

70'

Substitution

Adam Daghim

Tim Lemperle

What a chance!

It's a superb save from Baumann, who spreads himself in front of Pino and manages to block the Palace playmaker's goal-bound effort. Brilliant goalkeeping.

© IMAGO/Simon Dael/Shutterstock

65'

Sub cautioned

Nketiah slides in late on Rots and the referee brandishes another yellow card.

64'

Asllani again!

Burger capitalises on a Palace error inside the box and picks out Kramarić, who stumbles as he tries to get his shot away. Asllani pounces on the loose ball but can only direct his shot straight at Henderson.

62'

Yellows racking up

Yet another booking for Palace as Pino gets his name taken for a foul on Kramarić.

62'

Cleared

Kramarić tries to pick out Rots, but the defender fails to beat his marker to the cross.

61'

Ahanor cautioned

The Palace youngster dives in on Abraha and follows Wharton into the book. Hoffenheim have a free-kick in a dangerous position.

58'

Another yellow

Wharton catches Burger on the ankle and is cautioned by the referee.

55'

Double Palace change

Khalaili and Timber make way for Mingueza and Nketiah.

Off target from Burger

Wharton then has to make a diving clearance to prevent Abraha from picking out a team-mate in the area. Burger rises highest from the resulting corner to send a header narrowly over the bar.

© IMAGO/Katie Chan

Nearly 2-0!

Not for the first time, Hoffenheim carve through Palace on the break and Asllani finds himself one on one with Henderson - but he drags his shot wide of the upright!

© Mike Hewitt

51'

Hoffenheim clear their lines

Pino's effort strikes the Hoffenheim wall and bounces behind for a corner, which comes to nothing.

49'

Eagles free-kick

Abraha does well to get in the way of Mitchell's cross, but Hoffenheim then give away a free-kick around 30 metres from goal. Pino is standing over the ball...

47'

Lively Palace start

Palace threaten early on as Kamada bustles his way into the penalty area but is dispossessed before he can get a shot away. The hosts force a corner moments later, though.

46'

Under way again!

Palace kick off the second half.

Half-time: Crystal Palace 0-1 Hoffenheim

Prass's early goal is the difference between the sides at the interval. Hoffenheim created plenty of opportunities to add to their slender lead, but Ilzer will be more than happy with his charges' performance so far.

© IMAGO/Paul Terry

45'

+ 1

Into stoppage time

One minute added on.

43'

No way through

Burger is denied by Henderson from a tight angle, with Kabak sending a powerful header over the bar from the resulting corner.

40'

Into the final five

Can Hoffenheim go into half-time with their 1-0 lead intact?

37'

Hoffenheim break again

Another sweeping Hoffenheim counter ends in Abraha attempting to pick out Burger, who can't quite make contact with the defender's outswinging cross. Ilzer's team are causing Palace all sorts of problems on the break.

35'

Eagles improving

Ten minutes to go to half-time. Palace, slowly but surely, are working their way back into the contest. Baumann has had to be on his toes in the last few moments, although he was untroubled by Khalaili's wayward header just now.

32'

Canvot booked

The defender follows Kabak and Burger into the book after bringing down Lemperle in midfield.

Mateta comes to life

Now Mateta gets on the end of a deep cross towards the back post, but the Frenchman's header is straight at Baumann. The Palace striker goes close again moments later, unleashing a venomous shot which Baumann does well to parry.

© Mike Hewitt

28'

Kamada goes close

Palace almost restore parity as the midfielder collects Pino's pass and prods the ball towards the far corner, but his shot rolls narrowly wide of the upright.

Six attempts so far

Three on target for the visitors. Palace, meanwhile, have yet to register an effort at goal - although they did have that early Kamada goal disallowed.

© IMAGO/dweir

25'

Another yellow

Burger is booked for a foul on Wharton.

25'

Yellow card

Wouter Burger

23'

Close!

Prass's delivery from the left is cleared by Palace, but the hosts fail to deal with the resulting long-throw and Lemperle manages to flick the ball into the path of Kramarić, whose first-time shot is parried by Henderson. So close to a second Hoffenheim goal!

21'

Straight at Henderson

Asllani finds space for another shot, but his low drive from a tight angle is gobbled up by the Crystal Palace goalkeeper.

18'

Alert defending

Timber links up with Pino, who tries to flick the ball into the path of Kamada inside the box - but Avdullahu is alert to the danger and wins Hoffenheim a goal-kick.

15'

Hoffenheim settled

Ilzer's team are growing in confidence as the game progresses. The visiting fans are in full voice too - they're delighted with their team's start to proceedings at Selhurst Park.

12'

Nearly two!

Asllani pounces on a loose ball on the edge of the Palace area and fires a low, right-footed shot narrowly wide of the far post. Henderson was scrambling across his line to try and get his fingertips to the shot.

10'

Wide from Mateta

Kamada cuts the ball back for the Palace striker, who can't direct his close-range header on target. It wouldn't have counted anyway, though - both Kamada and Mateta were offside.

Hoffenheim lead!

Lovely goal. Palace lose the ball on the edge of the Hoffenheim box and the visitors break in a flash. Lemperle picks out Prass with a sweeping cross-field pass and the Austrian's half-volley squirms underneath Henderson and trickles over the line.

© IMAGO/Simon Dael/Shutterstock

7'

Alexander Prass

GOAL!

0:1

6'

Kabak cautioned

The defender brings down Mateta as Palace look to break and is shown an early yellow card.

6'

Yellow card

Ozan Kabak

4'

Goal disallowed!

Former Eintracht Frankfurt man Daichi Kamada rifles past Baumann from close range, but the Japan international was in an offside position and the goal is chalked off.

3'

Early Palace pressure

Hoffenheim haven't seen a great deal of the ball so far. The visitors are camped inside their own half as they try and keep Palace at bay in these early stages.

1'

Off we go!

The Bundesliga side get the action under way.

Kick-off approaching

Here come the teams! Can Hoffenheim follow up their impressive victory over Lyon with another three points in south London?

Bound for Selhurst Park

Will they be celebrating come full time?

© IMAGO/Simon Dael/Shutterstock

More on that Crystal Palace team

The hosts make three alterations to the side that lost to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. Ahanor, Khalaili and fit-again Timber (pictured) are restored, with Disasi, Mingueza and McNeil dropping to the bench.

© IMAGO/Dave Winter/Shutterstock

More on that Hoffenheim team

Ilzer makes two changes to the side that started Saturday's defeat at Werder Bremen. Daghim and the injured Hložek make way, with Prass - available again following suspension - and Lemperle (pictured) coming into the team.

© THOMAS KIENZLE

Crystal Palace starting XI

Henderson (c); Cannot, Richards, Ahanor; Khalaili, Timber, Wharton, Mitchell; Kamada, Mateta, Pino

Crystal Palace subs

Benítez, Benetton, Nketiah, McNeil, Strand Larsen, Osorio, Mingueza, Williams, Kalembo

Starting line-up: Hoffenheim

Formation:4-4-2

1

Oliver Baumann

39

Mats Rots

28

Koki Machida

5

Ozan Kabak

29

Natnael Abraha

22

Alexander Prass

7

Leon Avdullahu

18

Wouter Burger

27

Andrej Kramarić

19

Tim Lemperle

11

Fisnik Asllani

Hoffenheim subs

Petersson, Philipp, Dulic, Bernardo, Daghem, Lenz, Poller, Fields, Lässig, Wagenbach

Early team news

Robin Hranáč (knee), Vladimir Coufal (thigh), Bambasé Conté (adductor), Patrick Wimmer (hamstring), Valentin Gendrey (broken leg), Nathan De Cat (knee) and Max Moerstedt (head) are all sidelined for Hoffenheim, but Alexander Prass (pictured) is available after missing the recent defeat in Bremen through suspension.

© IMAGO/Sven Hanisch

Tricky ties vs. English opponents

Hoffenheim have lost all five previous European encounters with English clubs, but they have given some big-name teams a run for their money. A 6-3 aggregate defeat to Liverpool in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League play-offs was followed by back-to-back 2-1 losses to Manchester City in the 2018/19 competition, before a 3-2 UEFA Europa League league-phase defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur in 2024/25.

© Alex Grimm

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0:43

Watch: More from Ilzer

Pierre Sage on facing Hoffenheim

"All I know is that we need to win matches. So far, we've had one loss and one draw. If we can now secure two or three more wins, we can qualify for the knockout stage. That is the most important aim right now, and that's what we need to focus on."

Christian Ilzer on facing Crystal Palace

"It looks set to be an intense match. It will be important for us to get off to a good start. I expect Crystal Palace to try to win over the crowd straight away. It could get very intense. We need to play our own game. If we manage that, our chances of picking up points will improve. We've prepared well and are looking forward to it."

© IMAGO/Heiko Becker

Sage's share of the spoils

Pierre Sage faced Hoffenheim in the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League with Lyon, who earned a 2-2 draw in Germany in an entertaining group-stage encounter.

© IMAGO/Thomas Voelker

Palace under pressure

Despite getting the better of London rivals Fulham to reach the EFL Cup quarter-finals last week, the pressure is on Palace and head coach Pierre Sage. Defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend was their sixth in nine Premier League games this season and leaves them third from bottom in the standings.

© IMAGO/Wired Photos/Shutterstock

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2:03

Watch: Bremen 2-0 Hoffenheim - highlights

After a welcome run of three wins in all competitions, Hoffenheim endured a week to forget. Christian Ilzer's side exited the DFB Cup on penalties to Bundesliga 2's Holstein Kiel before going down 2-0 at Werder Bremen, slipping to 12th in the Bundesliga standings as a result.

Crystal Palace: the story so far

Last season's UEFA Conference League winners beat Lech Poznań 4-0 in their opening Europa League fixture, before losing 3-2 to Lyon and drawing 2-2 with Beşiktaş. A point better off than Hoffenheim ahead of Matchday 4, the Londoners find themselves among the eight seeded knockout phase play-off positions.

© IMAGO

Hoffenheim: the story so far

After respective 2-0 and 3-2 defeats to OFI and Beşiktaş, Hoffenheim got their Europa League campaign up and running with a 3-0 home win over Lyon. The Sinsheim club currently occupy an unseeded knockout phase play-off berth, but still have 15 league-phase points to play for.

© THOMAS KIENZLE

Welcome!

Follow all the build-up and live action as Hoffenheim visit English Premier League side Crystal Palace in their fourth fixture of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League league phase (kick-off: 6.45pm CET).

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