Crystal Palace see off Shakhtar to reach historic Conference League final

[p]After resting key personnel in their 3-0 loss to Bournemouth on the weekend, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/glasner-oliver/CznGurCt/"]Oliver Glasner[/a]’s Palace side were back to full strength ahead of an historic evening.[/p][p]It was [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/shakhtar/4ENWX2OA/"]Shakhtar[/a] who began on the front foot, though, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kaua-elias/nm1DFlyI/"]Kaua Elias[/a] having a couple of early opportunities, with his first effort drifting narrowly wide before the Brazilian was denied by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/henderson-dean/OpFOJojt/"]Dean Henderson[/a] and an eventual offside flag.[/p][p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/crystal-palace/AovF1Mia/"]Eagles[/a] then thought they had all but confirmed their passage into the final in the 10th minute when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/richards-chris/fVGFlDh2/"]Chris Richards[/a]’ long ball was flicked on by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mateta-jean-philippe/nsFUj6GN/"]Jean-Philippe Mateta[/a] for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/santos-yeremi/8fnHDvMe/"]Yéremy Pino[/a] to run through on goal and slide into the far corner, but the joy was short-lived as the Spaniard was found to be narrowly offside. [/p][embed guid="5d1deea4-08b3-4c0b-9c78-374221077a9a" url="https://x.com/CPFC/status/2052471423755513960" social-type="twitter" /][p]The home crowd didn’t have to wait long to be celebrating again, however, as Palace netted just beyond the midway point of the half.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wharton-adam/v5IYUpDm/"]Adam Wharton[/a] saw a powerful effort from 25 yards saved, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/munoz-daniel/4vZVW6Ur/"]Daniel Munoz[/a] tried to turn in the rebound from a tight angle and the ball was deflected in via [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pedrinho/bc5kfTe9/"]Pedro Henrique[/a] for an OG.[/p][p]Shakhtar, who had seven Brazilians in their starting 11, were back on level terms on the night nine minutes later when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/eguinaldo/CECk6tRg/"]Eguinaldo[/a] received the ball just inside the Palace box with his back to goal, took a touch, turned and brilliantly finished into the top left corner.[/p][image alt="Crystal Palace's Ismaila Sarr scores their second goal" id="80fb7bfb-b37a-42d6-b736-866302b6c4e4" credit-line="Reuters/Andrew Boyers" guid="4de18cfd-05b9-43ef-a1c3-8dcffd1759c8" original-width="4926" original-height="2829" /][p]Palace were back in front just seven minutes into the second half through [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sarr-ismaila/ll2uTDkB/"]Ismaila Sarr[/a], who poked home from close range after being picked out by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mitchell-tyrick/tbyIjQ0h/"]Tyrick Mitchell[/a] for his sixth goal in his last five Conference League games, and ninth overall in the competition to become the outright top scorer.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/turan-arda/K0HKnqmK/"]Arda Turan[/a] made a double change in an attempt to salvage some pride for his side, but the Eagles continued to pose a threat going forward as Mitchell saw a shot blocked after being played through on goal.[/p][image alt="Match stats" id="1c75da4c-948b-48f6-8d6c-270e76997056" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="55d437d6-eddc-433e-965d-c93d7427c73b" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]In the end, it was a momentous night for Palace, qualifying for the final where they will meet Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig as they aim to lift just a second-ever major trophy in their 120-year professional history.[/p][p]Though disappointed, Shakhtar are on course to return to European football next season as the 2009 UEFA Cup winners currently lead the Ukrainian domestic league.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mitchell-tyrick/tbyIjQ0h/"]Tyrick Mitchell[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/crystal-palace/AovF1Mia/"]Crystal Palace[/a])[/b][/p][image alt="Momentum" id="9f35b84f-84e2-4fc1-97e8-2dc8df757e0d" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="8a92996c-e378-49c0-b497-d98ecc918cf1" original-width="1920" original-height="1080" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/crystal-palace-AovF1Mia/shakhtar-donetsk-4ENWX2OA/summary/stats/?mid=AVlNTLpn"]Catch up on the match stats with Flashscore[/a].[/b][/p]