Crystal Palace beats Shakhtar, reaches Europa Conference League

Crystal Palace have booked their place in the Europa Conference League final after a 2-1 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk at Selhurst Park in the second leg of the semi-finals. The English side will now face Rayo Vallecano of Spain on May 27 at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig.

Palace entered the second leg with a significant advantage, having won the first leg 3-1 last Thursday. A win or a draw in the return fixture was enough to send them to the final in the German city of Leipzig.

A challenging European campaign

The road to the final was far from straightforward for Crystal Palace. In the group stage, they managed only three wins from six matches, finishing in tenth place and being forced into the playoff round rather than securing direct qualification to the round of 16.

In the playoffs, Palace overcame Zrinjski Mostar 3-1 on aggregate. The team then faced a tough test in the round of 16 against AEK Larnaca, needing extra time to prevail 2-1 in a match that demonstrated their resilience under pressure.

The quarter-finals saw Crystal Palace deliver a standout attacking performance, eliminating Fiorentina 4-2 in what was one of their best displays of the season, amid a celebratory atmosphere that underscored the scale of the achievement.