Oliver Glasner praised Crystal Palace’s “huge European night” after the Eagles secured a spot in the Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano on an electrifying evening at Selhurst Park. Ismaila Sarr now tops the competition with nine goals following his second-half strike in Palace’s 2-1 semi-final second-leg win over Shakhtar Donetsk, which saw the hosts clinch the tie 5-2 on aggregate.
Daniel Munoz initiated a Pedro Henrique own goal to open the scoring in the 25th minute, only for Eguinaldo to equalise with a stylish effort before half-time. Sarr, already pivotal to Palace’s European journey, ensured more history would be made this season.
“It was electric,” said Glasner. “A fantastic atmosphere. A great night at Selhurst. And of course it was the right result and a huge achievement, huge congratulations and credit to the players.
“The commitment today, the effort, the discipline, was exceptional, and I always believed that we would create chances and score goals.
“At the end we all got the reward with Ismaila Sarr scoring the goal. A huge performance, and a huge European night.”
Palace are now just 90 minutes away from securing a trip to the Europa League, the competition they initially thought they had qualified for when they beat Manchester City to win the FA Cup – their first major silverware – last year.
Controversy surrounding multi-club ownership and a failed appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport ultimately led to the Eagles being admitted to the Conference League, with Nottingham Forest taking the Europa League spot instead.
There was a noticeable cheer at Selhurst Park on Thursday night when Palace fans learned that not only had their team reached a first European final, but that Aston Villa had defeated Forest 4-0 in the all-English Europa League semi-final to advance 4-1 on aggregate.
Glasner echoed sentiments he had shared with his players after the FA Cup victory, telling them: “These moments you can’t buy. These moments you have to deserve. I think everybody, every single player, every one of the staff, deserved this moment.
“The feeling that you have in this last minute, when you walk around the stadium, on the pitch, this feeling – I think that’s why we all love football.”
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