Crystal Palace beat Shakhtar Donetsk to reach their first ever European final

Crystal Palace secured a 2-1 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final second leg at Selhurst Park on Thursday, advancing to the final 5-2 on aggregate.

The visitors made a bright start and nearly struck within three minutes, with Kaua Elias dragging his effort narrowly wide before Dean Henderson produced a save to keep out Eguinaldo.

Minutes later, Yeremy Pino appeared to have fired the Eagles ahead, finishing off Jean-Philippe Mateta’s deft flick, only for VAR to rule the effort out for offside.

In the 25th minute, Daniel Munoz broke the deadlock, reacting quickest to slot home after Adam Wharton’s spilt effort to put the hosts ahead.

In the 33rd minute, Eguinaldo restored parity for the visitors, picking out the top corner in fine fashion.

At the other end, Ismaila Sarr almost responded immediately, but his strike from a tight angle floated wide before Mateta struck the post with an acrobatic effort.

Just seven minutes after the restart, Sarr gave Palace the lead, tapping in Tyrick Mitchell’s delivery at the back post for his ninth goal of the competition.

In the 62nd minute, Mateta squandered a glorious opportunity to increase the deficit as he couldn’t hit the target from close range before Jorgen Strand Larsen was denied by Riznyk.

Crystal Palace will take on Rayo Vallecano in their first ever European final in Leipzig on May 27.