Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano gained an advantage today in the race to the Conference League final, after beating Shakhtar Donetsk (3-1) and Strasbourg (1-0), respectively, in the first leg of the semi-finals.
In the case of the English team, only a catastrophe will prevent them from competing for the trophy of the third European club competition, since they will host the Ukrainians with a two-goal advantage, after the victory obtained today in Krakow, Poland, which began to be built in the first minute, with a goal from Senegalese player Ismaila Sarr.
Shakhtar Donetsk managed to equalize early in the second half, in the 48th minute, through Oleg Ocheretko, but Crystal Palace regained the lead shortly after, in the 58th minute, thanks to Japanese player Daichi Kamada, before Norwegian Strand Larsen sealed the final result in the 84th minute.
Rayo Vallecano’s solitary goal, scored by Brazilian Alemão in the 54th minute, secured victory at home against Strasbourg, but the Spanish team should not expect an easy match in the second leg in France in a week’s time.
The final of the 2025/26 Conference League – whose first edition, in 2021/22, was won by Roma, under the command of Portuguese coach José Mourinho – will take place on May 27th in the German city of Leipzig.
