Oliver Glasner hails Crystal Palace's 'special' Conference League win over Fiorentina
Oliver Glasner hails Crystal Palace's 'special' Conference League win over Fiorentina
Crystal Palace are just 180 minutes away from a European final after they survived a second-leg scare to beat Fiorentina in the Conference League quarter-finals.
The Eagles won 2-0 in the first-leg to put them in good stead for a tricky away fixture, where they managed to progress despite falling to a 2-1 defeat on the night.
Their campaign suffered a further setback, too, as both Adam Wharton and Maxence Lacroix picked up injuries.
And then there were four. Palace will face the storied Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk in their semi-final, with Rayo Vallecano of La Liga facing BlueCo club Strasbourg in the opposite fixture.
Shakhtar romped past AZ Alkmaar in their own quarter-final, and will pose particularly tricky opposition for Oliver Glasner’s men.
Conference League semi-final first leg matches are scheduled to be held on April 30, with the return fixtures taking place the following Thursday.
Conference League semi-final dates in full
April 30 (first-leg)
Rayo Vallecano vs Strasbourg
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Crystal Palace
May 7 (second-leg)
Strasbourg vs Rayo Vallecano
Crystal Palace vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Conference League final
May 27: Shakhtar Donetsk/Crystal Palace vs Rayo Vallecano/Strasbourg
Conference League quarter-final results
All scores aggregate
Shakhtar Donetsk 5-2 AZ Alkmaar
Crystal Palace 4-2 Fiorentina
Rayo Vallecano 4-3 AEK Athens
Mainz 05 2-4 RC Strasbourg
Conference League last 16 results
Lech Poznan 3-4 Shakhtar Donetsk
AZ Alkmaar 6-1 Sparta Prague
Crystal Palace 2-1 AEK Larnaca
Fiorentina 4-2 Rakov Czestochowa
Samunspor 2-3 Rayo Vallecano
NK Celje 2-4 AEK Athens
Sigma Olomouc 0-2 Mainz 05
HNK Rijeka 2-3 RC Strasbourg