Crystal Palace swept past Shakhtar Donetsk 5-2 on aggregate to reach their first-ever European final on Thursday, giving manager Oliver Glasner the chance of a fairytale end to his golden reign.
The Eagles led 3-1 after the first leg of the UEFA Conference League semi-final and went further ahead in the first half at a crackling Selhurst Park, courtesy of an own goal from Pedro Henrique.
Eguinaldo levelled but Ismaila Sarr continued his rich vein of form by scoring his ninth goal of the competition early in the second period to make it 2-1 on the night.
Glasner’s men will face Rayo Vallecano in the final in Leipzig later this month after the Spanish side beat Strasbourg 2-0 on aggregate.
“It’s incredible, obviously for this football club, you see the connections between the players and supporters, it’s fantastic, it’s unbelievable,” Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson told TNT Sports.
“The manager came in, he made this team believe we can win any game. It’s been a difficult season obviously with the amount of games we’ve played, we’ve delivered another final, which is fantastic.”
The south London side took the lead in the second leg in the 25th minute after a surging attack, with Adam Wharton at the centre of the move.
Dmytro Riznyk palmed away Wharton’s stinging long-range shot but was helpless as Daniel Munoz’s follow-up from a tight angle flicked off Henrique and flew past him.
Eguinaldo made it 1-1 for the exiled Ukrainian team with a nonchalant finish into the top corner, leaving Henderson rooted to the spot.
Jean-Philippe Mateta crashed a shot against the post with an audacious scissor-kick shortly before interval as the home side continued to threaten.
The tie was effectively over soon after the restart when Sarr turned in Tyrick Mitchell’s cross from close range and Palace saw out the game comfortably.
– History makers –
The final in Leipzig on May 27 will be Glasner’s final match in charge after he announced earlier this season that he would leave when his contract expires next month.
The 51-year-old Austrian, who arrived early in 2024, has overseen a golden period for Palace, guiding them to a 1-0 win over Manchester City in last season’s FA Cup final — the club’s first major trophy.
Palace then beat Liverpool on penalties in the season-opening Community Shield.
The Conference League, Europe’s third-tier competition, was only launched in 2021 and two of the four winners so far have been London clubs — West Ham in 2023 and Chelsea last season.
Palace are only in the competition because they were demoted from the Europa League before the start of the season after UEFA ruled they had breached multi-club ownership rules.
Winning the Conference League would guarantee entry into next season’s Europa League.
Glasner, who won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022, was in sparkling form in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, saying his players wanted to taste the “honey” again after winning the FA Cup last year.
Now they have the chance of a sweetest end to their season.
AFP
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