As the song that has accompanied them on their maiden European adventure promised all along, Crystal Palace are on their way to Leipzig. Sixteen years after rescuing the club he supported as a child from administration, Steve Parish watched on with immense pride as Oliver Glasner’s side held off a spirited challenge from Shakhtar Donetsk to book a showdown with Rayo Vallecano in eastern Germany later this month.
There were ecstatic celebrations as Palace’s players completed a lap of honour in front of their adoring supporters who are still having to pinch themselves over the events of the past 12 months. Glasner may be set to leave after what will be the 60th game of a marathon season but whatever happens after this, he will always have a special place in the club’s history. One of the loudest cheers of the night came when the stadium announcer confirmed that Nottingham Forest – who controversially replaced Palace in the Europa League – had been thrashed 4-0 by Aston Villa in their semi-final.
The captain Dean Henderson, admitted that the sense of injustice has been driving the FA Cup winners. “It’s pretty incredible really to even get into a European competition with Crystal Palace, let alone reach the final,” he said. “We’ve got to deliver something special. We’ve got to get back what we deserve.”
Reports from Spain on Thursday suggested that Andoni Iraola – Palace’s preferred candidate – could yet be persuaded to take over at Selhurst Park next season despite having plenty of other suitors when he leaves Bournemouth. The lure of playing in the Europa League next season – their reward for winning this competition – could certainly help to convince him, as would retaining most of a squad that has proved it is capable of mixing it at this level after being cruelly demoted to the Conference League.
A big summer awaits Parish and co but for now he and Glasner can bask in the prospect of another day out to remember for the club’s supporters. “We have had a few tough moments – but it was always more noise around us rather than inside. When you stick together in difficult moments you get the reward,” said Glasner, who will contest his fourth major final in four seasons after leading Eintracht Frankfurt to Europa League glory in 2022.
This stadium celebrated its centenary in 2024 but had never hosted an occasion like this. A sea of red and-blue flags in the Holmesdale End greeted the players when they emerged. Shakhtar, whose supporters packed out the away section, warmed up by beating big domestic rivals Dynamo Kyiv at the weekend to move closer to yet another league title and Glasner had warned that the tie was far from over despite Palace’s impressive win in last week’s first leg.
A quick start that saw Kauã Elias shoot wide before Eguinaldo warmed Henderson’s gloves in the third minute showed that he hadn’t been joking. Palace were soon into their stride. Yeremy Pino produced a brilliant finish after racing on to Jean-Philippe Mateta’s header but the Spain forward was marginally offside in the buildup. Consistent selection has been the key to Palace’s success under Glasner, with nine of those who started here having also played against Manchester City in last year’s historic FA Cup triumph that secured their first ever major trophy. Familiarity clearly breeds success and despite once more surrendering the majority of possession, Palace looked comfortable.
They took the lead through a piece of good fortune when Daniel Muñoz’s cross deflected off Pedro Henrique to deceive Dmytro Riznyk at his near post. The Shakhtar goalkeeper had just made an excellent save to deny Adam Wharton, who somehow still hasn’t scored his first goal for Palace but has become the heartbeat of this side since his move from Blackburn just before Glasner took over. The visitors would not throw in the towel and they found a lifeline when the exciting Eguinaldo found an inch of space inside the Palace area and curled the ball neatly into the top corner. Mateta was then unlucky to see his acrobatic effort from a Muñoz cross cannon off the post on the stroke of half-time.
So often this season, Ismaïla Sarr has been Palace’s most consistent attacking threat and the Senegal forward looks a shoo-in to finish as top scorer in this competition after touching home his ninth of the campaign and 19th in all competitions this season from Tyrick Mitchell’s cross to end the contest.
It is a measure of Glasner’s high standards that even with the job done he was still barking out instructions as the clock ticked towards full time. Wherever he ends up, you suspect more success will follow.
