Pierre Sage: "The cards were a sign of energy and fight"

Crystal Palace head coach Pierre Sage says he has no complaints about the string of yellow cards his side picked up against Hoffenheim, calling them a sign of the "energy and fight" his players showed.

Sage managed to ease some of the pressure on his position at Selhurst Park with a 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim in the UEFA Europa League.

When Alexander Prass's seventh-minute strike found the net despite Dean Henderson getting a touch, Palace looked to be heading for a fourth defeat in their last five matches in all competitions.

As the English side chased an equaliser, tempers rose; Adam Wharton, Honest Ahanor, Yéremy Pino and Eddie Nketiah were all booked within a seven-minute spell. Things got worse for the hosts with 13 minutes remaining.

Wharton was sent off after a second yellow card for a foul on Wouter Burger in an aerial challenge. Palace, one of the Premier League teams with the most red cards in all competitions this season, picked up their third to join Manchester United and Sunderland at the top of that list.

But Daichi Kamada stepped up in the 91st minute to earn Palace a draw. Even so, Sage does not want picking up cards to become a habit for his team.

The experienced head coach said: "Of course we want to see fewer cards because we need all our players in every competition. With the energy and fight we put in, we found ourselves in a situation where we took the risk of picking up some cards. Now we have to understand that we must manage the game better from the start so we don't end up in situations like this."

Addressing Wharton's red card, the head coach said: "I never comment on refereeing decisions. But it was hard playing without him. We struggled right after the card, but we reorganised by going back to a back four."

Unbeaten in their last eight matches at Selhurst Park (W5 D3) since losing their first home game in major European competition to AEK Larnaca, Palace continue to struggle in attack. Kamada's fourth goal in his last 12 matches was the team's first at home since the 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest on 11 October.

Palace generated an expected goals (xG) figure of just 1.05 from 13 shots, and goalkeeper Henderson prevented the deficit from doubling with a superb first-half save to deny Andrej Kramaric a clear chance.

Sage said: "It could have been better if we had scored earlier, but I know Dean Henderson kept us in the game with the saves he made. I love the team's energy and the fact that they never give up until the end. The goal came at a good moment, and we might even have had one last chance to win the game."

With the pressure on Sage continuing, the fixture list is not getting any easier for Palace either. The red and blues host Liverpool on Sunday. Looking ahead to the match, Sage said: "First of all we have to recover and build our game plan, because we are up against a crazy team with some truly wonderful players."