Pierre Sage had no complaints about the number of yellow cards Crystal Palace were shown against Hoffenheim, highlighting it showed "energy and fight" from his players. 

Sage was able to relieve some of the pressure surrounding his position at Selhurst Park with a 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim in the Europa League on Thursday.

The Eagles appeared set for a fourth defeat in five matches in all competitions when Alexander Prass' seventh-minute strike squirmed under the grasp of Dean Henderson. 

And in Palace's quest for an equaliser, they thundered into challenges and saw Adam Wharton, Honest Ahanor, Yeremy Pino and Eddie Nketiah all booked in the space of seven minutes, and it got even worse for the hosts 13 minutes from time. 

Wharton received his second yellow card for an elbow on Wouter Burger when challenging for the ball in the air. Indeed, no Premier League side have had more red cards in all competitions this season than Palace, with this their third (Manchester United and Sunderland also three).

But Daichi Kamada stepped up with a 91st-minute equaliser for Palace, though Sage does not want regular bookings to become a consistent occurrence for his team. 

"For sure, we want to take fewer cards because we need all the players for all the competition," Sage told TNT Sports. 

"With the energy and the fight, I think we were in a situation to take the risk of some cards.

"Now we just have to understand that we don't have to be in this situation by managing our game in a better way from the beginning."

On Wharton's red card, the Palace boss added: "I never comment on the decision of the referee. It's difficult to play without him.

"We suffered just after that, but we reorganised ourselves to play with a back four."

A point at Selhurst https://t.co/zDB1eQSDqn

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) November 5, 2026

Since losing to AEK Larnaca in their first home match in major European competition, Palace are now unbeaten in their last eight at Selhurst Park (W5 D3).

But they once again struggled in front of goal on Thursday, with Kamada's goal, his fourth in his last 12 games for Palace, the Eagles' first in all competitions on home turf since a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest on October 11. 

Palace generated an expected goals (xG) total of just 1.05 from their 13 attempts, while they also had Henderson to thank for stopping Hoffenheim from going two goals ahead in the first half, with the Eagles captain producing a stunning stop to deny Andrej Kramaric. 

"I think it could have been better if we scored before, but I know that Dean Henderson kept us in the game with his saves," Sage added.

"I like the energy of the team and to never give up until the end. This goal came at a good moment. We maybe had a last chance to win the game."

The pressure remains on Sage, though, and things do not get any easier for Palace as Andoni Iraola's Liverpool side make the trip to Selhurst Park this Sunday.

"First of all, recovery and we have to build the gameplan because it's a crazy team with really good players," Sage said of Palace's clash with Liverpool.

"They lost their last two games. I think they will come with a lot of ambition, and we have to deal with that."