Shak Donetsk 1 – 3 C Palace

Crystal Palace earned a 3-1 advantage to take back to south London in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Palace, in pursuit of a second major trophy under Oliver Glasner, raced into the lead in the first 21 seconds when Ismaila Sarr combined neatly with Jean-Philippe Mateta to sweep into the far corner – making Sarr the joint top scorer in the competition and owner of the record-fastest goal.

The visitors were then undone from a careless set-piece just after the break, allowing Shakhtar to win first and second contact from a corner, finished from close range by Oleh Ocheretko. Pressure built, as Arda Turan’s side pressed and dominated the ball. The tie looked to be turning.

But Palace were happy to sit in their shape out of possession, retaining a constant threat on the counter, and missed a succession of chances before finally making one count. Sarr and Mateta drew a fantastic double save from Dmytro Riznyk and the latter hit the post before Daichi Kamada struck a well-taken second.

The way the second half unfolded suited Palace perfectly, a stylistic masterclass from Glasner. They were physically too tough for Shakhtar to break down from open play and possessed too much pace on the counter not to make good on their threat eventually.

Kamada ensured they did. The midfielder turned over the ball inside his own half and spotted the surging run of substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen, who beat Riznyk with a composed dink. A professional Palace display to nail the away leg, one that surely has them overwhelming favourites to reach the final in Leipzig at the end of May.

What’s coming up for Crystal Palace?

Before next Thursday’s return leg at Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace go to European-chasing Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 2pm.