EAGLE-EYED Eagles fans can credit Oliver Glasner for his moment of genius which may help Crystal Palace reach the Conference League final.
The Austrian saw his side beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 in the first leg of their semi-final in Krakow.
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Crystal Palace secured a huge 3-1 win against Shakhtar Donetsk Credit: AFP
Oliver Glasner had a hand in the goal by swapping in a fresh football Credit: Getty
Ismaila Sarr got a record-breaking goal after just 21 seconds – the fastest in Conference League history – but the Ukrainians equalised straight after half-time.
But with Palace pushing to restore their lead, Glasner came up trumps with a superb piece of creativity.
Chris Richards had just launched a long throw-in into the box which Jean-Philippe Mateta hooked against the inside of the post.
The ball was cleared for another throw, this time on the other side – the side of the dugout.
SHAKHTAR 1 C PALACE 3
Sarr scores fastest goal in Conference League history in huge win
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And as Richards trotted over to pick up the ball and hurl it in, quick-thinking Glasner intervened.
The manager picked up a spare, dry ball on a cone next to the pitch and handed it to his American defender, who did not need to wipe away any excess water.
That gave him the perfect grip to throw the fresh, swapped ball into the mixer.
Shakhtar could only half clear and the ball fell invitingly for Daichi Kamada, whose sweet left-foot strike flew in.
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Chris Richards threw the dry ball into the mixer Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Kamada’s sweet strike was his first goal for the club since October 2024 Credit: Getty
It was his first Eagles goal since October 2024.
Kamada then turned provider for sub and club-record signing Jorgen Strand Larsen on the counter late on as the Norwegian showed great composure to take an extra touch, cut inside and clip a brilliant finish in to make it 3-1 and put one foot in the final.
That was Strand Larsen’s first European goal – and first Eagles strike in ten games since March 5 – and gives Palace a priceless two-goal advantage to take back to Selhurst Park.
The ex-Wolves man said: “Obviously, I needed that. To come on and score a goal is just an amazing feeling and for us to get the third goal is massive.
“I think if we were a little bit better on the counterattacks later on, we could have scored more.
“We’re not going to celebrate too much but we’re really happy with this win. We’re going to go and smash it on Thursday and hopefully go through.”
