Keep this up and Crystal Palace’s European adventure could end in yet another trophy for Oliver Glasner. Four years ago it was Daichi Kamada who scored the winning goal for Glasner’s Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against West Ham and the Japan midfielder again provided the crucial moment here before setting up the substitute Jørgen Strand Larsen to ensure Palace will head into next week’s second leg with a two-goal advantage.
But they will know that this tie is far from over after a vibrant Shakhtar Donetsk side stuffed with Brazilian flair caused them plenty of problems before cancelling out Ismaïla Sarr’s opener after just 21 seconds – the fastest goal in Conference League history. The Senegal forward now has eight in 11 appearances so far in this competition and – like Kamada, who is out of contract at the end of the season and received a standing ovation from the Palace fans when he was taken off – is quickly cementing his status as a Palace legend.
Continue reading...
