Ndidi scores first European goal for Beşiktaş in 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace
- Wilfred Ndidi gave Beşiktaş the lead in first-half stoppage time in Istanbul.
- Crystal Palace hit back through Yeremy Pino and Jean-Philip Mateta before Junior Olaitan levelled.
- Beşiktaş finished with 10 men after Umit Akdag was sent off, and sit eighth on seven points.
Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi scored his first European goal for Beşiktaş, but the Turkish side had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace in their Europa League match in Istanbul on Thursday night.
Ndidi opened the scoring in the second minute of first-half added time. He ran onto a long ball from Salih Ozcan and beat Palace goalkeeper Walter Benitez. It was Beşiktaş's first shot on target.
Both clubs arrived after domestic defeats: Beşiktaş lost 2-0 to Trabzonspor, while Palace were beaten 5-0 at Brighton. The match itself was tense, played before a loud home crowd.
Palace turn the game around
Palace drew level on 51 minutes. Yeremy Pino finished off a low cross from Anan Khalaili.
Four minutes later, Jean-Philip Mateta put the visitors ahead, scoring his first goal since the Conference League final last season.
Junior Olaitan, the Benin Republic international, equalised for Beşiktaş on 73 minutes.
The hosts' night got harder in the 77th minute when Umit Akdag was shown a red card for a wild challenge on Jorgen Strand Larsen. The Palace player had to be substituted.
The draw leaves Beşiktaş eighth in the 36-team league table on seven points.
What happens next
Beşiktaş travel to Scotland to face Celtic on Matchday 4, while Palace host Hoffenheim.
Before the match, Ndidi had told reporters at his pre-match press conference that the team was ready for a tough test. He noted that English clubs are used to a high tempo and that Beşiktaş had already faced strong opposition.
"We are a team and we will be playing at home. We are working very hard," he said.
Beşiktaş had started their group campaign with a 4-1 win over Marseille and a 3-2 away victory at Hoffenheim.
In other matches involving Nigerian players, AC Milan, without the injured Samuel Chukwueze, lost 3-0 at Bournemouth. Nathan Tella came on as a substitute, while Victor Boniface was not listed in Bayer Leverkusen's 2-0 win at OFI Crete. Tochukwu Nnadi's Marseille lost 1-0 at Sturm Graz, and Juventus came from behind to draw 2-2 with Rennes.
