Crystal Palace beats Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 to reach Conference League final

Crystal Palace beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 at a raucous Selhurst Park to secure a 5-2 aggregate victory in the Conference League semifinals.

The win puts the Eagles one match from the title. They will face Rayo Vallecano, who beat Strasbourg 2-0 on aggregate, in the final on May 27 in Leipzig, Germany.

Palace had won the FA Cup and Community Shield at Wembley in 2025. Uefa demoted them from the Europa League to the Conference League for multi-club ownership rules. American businessman John Textor held a 43% stake in Palace until selling it in June. He also owned Lyon, which took Palace's Europa spot while finishing higher domestically. Nottingham Forest replaced Palace in Europa League.

Palace appealed the decision. Chairman Steve Parish attended an eight-hour hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, but they lost.

Since then, Palace traveled to Norway, Poland, France, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Italy and Poland again. They started against Larnaca.

Manager Oliver Glasner, appointed in February 2024 and set to leave this summer, nears a third trophy. The 51-year-old Austrian spoke to the chairman before the match. "Do you ever think we would be playing in the semi-final of a European competition?" Glasner asked. The chairman said no. "When we talked for the first time three years ago, I didn't think about it," Glasner added. "This is what you achieve if you work hard and stick together in tough moments - and we have had a few. When you stick together in difficult moments, you get the reward."

"I really enjoy the European nights at Selhurst," Glasner said. "We had to grow into the competition and the fans had to grow. If you look when we started against Larnaca, the level of excitement increased and increased."

Shakhtar fans bounced in one corner Thursday while home supporters clapped and cheered. The crowd sang the club anthem "Glad All Over" louder than ever, with pyrotechnics adding to the mood.

"It was a fantastic atmosphere and a great night at Selhurst," Glasner said. "It's a huge achievement and great credit to the players. Everybody could see how good Shakhtar are."

Goalkeeper and captain Dean Henderson said, "It's incredible for the football club. You see the connection between the players and the supporters, it's fantastic. It's unbelievable. When you come in from a game like that [the FA Cup final], it gives you confidence and makes you hungry. We've got an ambitious group of players as well. It's pretty incredible, honestly, to get into a European competition with Crystal Palace, never mind make the final. We've got to deliver something special. We need to get back what we deserve as well [Europa League qualification]."

Palace, formed in 1905, won their only major trophy in 1991. Ian Wright scored twice in a 4-1 Zenith Data Systems Cup final win over Everton at Wembley.

The past 12 months brought more success. Eberechi Eze scored in a 1-0 FA Cup final win over Manchester City. Palace beat Liverpool on penalties in the Community Shield.

After the FA Cup, Eze joined Arsenal. Captain Marc Guehi nearly moved to Liverpool but the deal collapsed on deadline day.

Palace played their 55th game of 2025-26 on Thursday amid a small squad. They went winless for 12 matches from December. Their FA Cup defense ended with a 2-1 third-round loss at sixth-tier Macclesfield in January.

Glasner announced his departure that month. England defender Guehi later transferred to Manchester City. Glasner said his squad was "being abandoned completely" by the hierarchy.

Striker Jean-Philippe Mateta failed a medical and stayed instead of joining AC Milan.

Nottingham Forest lost 4-0 to Aston Villa Thursday, ending their Europa League run.

"We want to end the season in the perfect way - and we can do it," Glasner said. "I said to the players, 'don't do anything for me, do it for yourselves, for the club, for the fans.' Winning the Conference League means European football again next season for Crystal Palace. They have had a taste, with the FA Cup and Community Shield, and they want honey again. They will not be happy with just avocado. They want something sweeter."