Palace earn first-leg advantage over Shakhtar Donetsk in ECL semi-final

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.

Image: Sarr opened the scoring inside 21 seconds

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.

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