Eagles are flying high – Crystal Palace on the verge of the Conference League final

For a long time, people said that the English don’t care about anything except the Champions League when it comes to European competitions—especially not something called the Conference League. Well… turns out that’s not quite true.

In the fifth edition of Europe’s youngest club competition, there’s a strong chance that English teams will have a finalist for the third time. It remains to be seen whether Arsenal will reach the Champions League final, but a Conference League trophy could very well end up in London, as Crystal Palace defeated Shakhtar in Krakow and carry a 3–1 advantage into the return leg.

For the first time in their history, Crystal Palace have stepped onto the big international stage, aside from a symbolic appearance in the Intertoto Cup (where they lost both matches). And now, they’re just one step away from fighting for a trophy!

That’s how dominant the English Premier League is compared to the rest of Europe. West Ham and Chelsea have won the trophy in two of the last four editions of the Conference League—London could make it a hat-trick this year.

There used to be a saying: “The fans hadn’t even taken their seats, and a goal had already been scored.” But here, if you were even a minute late—you missed it. Right from kickoff, Crystal Palace took the lead. Just 21 seconds passed from the referee’s first whistle to the ball hitting the back of the net.

Mateta found space for Sarr, who burst into the penalty area and made it 1–0. Total shock for Shakhtar, and pure chaos in the section of the stands filled with Palace fans, who lit flares—something not typically associated with English supporters.

Shakhtar’s game plan collapsed instantly. Arda Turan tried to rally his players, but it took time for them to recover from such a shock. Meanwhile, the London side could calmly control the game, with the result already in their hands. Shakhtar had moments where they managed to assert themselves, but by halftime, they hadn’t registered a single shot on target.

The second half was far more intense, especially in the opening 20 minutes. Just as they conceded early in the first half, the exiled “Miners” from Donetsk responded quickly after the break. Following a corner, Ocheretko converted a rebound to equalize.

However, their momentum was short-lived. In the next ten minutes, goalkeeper Riznyk kept them afloat with two incredible saves in the span of five seconds, and the post also came to Ukraine’s rescue—but in the 58th minute, there was no saving them: Lacroix set up Kamada, who restored Crystal Palace’s lead.

After conceding again, Shakhtar dominated possession—holding as much as 70%—but to little effect. They struggled to create chances or seriously threaten. Palace waited patiently for their opportunity, and it came in the 85th minute when Larsen scored to make it 3–1, putting the Eagles within touching distance of the final.

CONFERENCE LEAGUE - SEMI-FINALS

First leg

Thursday

Rayo Vallecano - Strasbourg 1-0 (0-0)

/Alemao 54/

Shakhtar - Crystal Palace 1-3 (0-1)

/Ocheretko 47 - Sarr 1, Kamada 58, Larsen 84/