Both sides entered this contest off the back of a harrowing domestic defeat, and while Vincenzo Italiano responded to Besiktas’ 2-0 loss to Trabzonspor by making nine changes, that did little to dampen the atmosphere at a raucous Tupras Stadium.
The hosts were completely outclassed by Palace early on, though, and jeers momentarily rung out after Jean-Philippe Mateta slid his shot into the bottom corner just six minutes into the striker’s first start since late August, but his goal was ruled out for offside.
Chris Richards then came agonisingly close with a header that eventually nestled on the top of Alexander Nubel’s net.
Oh Hyeon-Gyu headed off-target with the first effort from the Kara Kartallar, who showed signs of improvement, but Palace continued to carry a threat as Tyrick Mitchell dragged a shot wide before Mateta sent his effort from a corner straight at Nubel.
Despite the score remaining level, Besiktas suffered a blow with Fabio Miretti having to be replaced in the 39th minute due to an injury.
Even so, his replacement Salih Ozcan played a vital role in the hosts opening the scoring in the second minute of added time before the break, as Wilfred Ndidi ran onto the substitute’s ball in behind and beat Walter Benitez.
Palace responded to the setback by remaining on the front foot after the restart, and that approach was rewarded inside seven minutes as Yeremy Pino guided Anan Khalaili’s low cross past Nubel.
Just two minutes later, Mateta pounced on a lax Tiago Djalo pass and smashed home his first goal since the Conference League final to put the visitors ahead.
Daichi Kamada then saw his shot blocked by a teammate, but the Eagles were forced to drop back as Besiktas tried to carve out a chance to test Benitez.
Having seen his side struggle to find one, substitute Junior Olaitan took matters into his own hands in the 73rd minute by firing a strike from outside the box into the bottom corner.
Besiktas’ celebrations were disrupted just five minutes later, when Umit Akdag was sent off for a reckless challenge on Jorgen Strand Larsen, who tried to play on but was forced off.
Eddie Nketiah struck the side netting shortly after his introduction, as Besiktas lost their perfect record in the league phase of this season’s Europa League but at least remain unbeaten on the continent despite having lost two of their last three Turkish Super Lig matches.
Palace provided a positive response to their back-to-back competitive defeats and now sit on four Europa League points.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Junior Olaitan (Besiktas)