C Palace 2 – 1 Shak Donetsk

Crystal Palace will face Rayo Vallecano in their first European final after a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park and a 5-2 aggregate Conference League semi-final win over Shakhtar Donetsk helped the Eagles book a place in Leipzig.

Ismaila Sar put the tie beyond doubt after Shakhtar staged a comeback when Iguinaldo’s superb effort canceled out his side’s own goal.

With the 50th win of his Palace reign, the outgoing Oliver Glasner set a possible fairytale farewell after presiding over the most successful spell in the club’s history. In the space of a year, Palace will have the chance to add the Conference League trophy to a cabinet that includes the FA Cup and Community Shield.

The Eagles can also take some solace in the night they reached the final, with Nottingham Forest knocking Aston Villa out of the Europa League.

Forest played a role in Palace’s failure to qualify for the Europa League by UEFA last season despite winning the FA Cup.

Palace enjoyed a largely underwhelming evening, with Glasner returning to the same side that took a 3-1 advantage in the first leg. Shakhtar threatened early on but it was Palace who had the sharper cutting edge.

Jeremy Pino found the net after just nine minutes with a clinical finish, but his effort was ruled offside following a VAR check after Jean-Philippe Mateta ran onto the flick-on.

Daniel Munoz’s effort led to Palace’s opening goal, though, with the Colombian first on the scene after Adam Wharton’s strike was saved.

His drilled effort took out Pedrinho and went past Dmytro Riznik, but Aguinaldo found the top corner to draw Shakhtar level on the night and renew their hopes of a 34th-minute tie.

Jean-Philippe Mateta’s acrobatic effort hit the post before the half-time whistle, but just seven minutes after the restart, Sarr made it all clear for the Eagles with his 19th goal of the season and ninth of the competition.

The stage for Leipzig is now set, with Palace taking on Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday 27 May.

The match kicks off at 8pm UK time and takes place at the Red Bull Arena, home of Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, with a maximum capacity of around 60,000.

More to follow…

What’s coming up for Crystal Palace?

Crystal Palace return to Premier League action against Everton on Sunday 10 May, live on Sky Sports; Kick off at 2pm.

Sunday May 10 at 1:00pm

2:00pm kick off