On Thursday, April 30, Shakhtar Donetsk, who were eliminated from the tournament by AZ from the Netherlands, played a nominally home match of the Conference League semi-finals against the English Cup and Super Cup winner Crystal Palace at the Henryk Reiman Stadium in Krakow, Poland.
VIDEO OF THE DAY
Conference League. Semi-finals. First match
Shakhtar (Ukraine) — Crystal Palace (England) — 1:3
Shakhtar: Riznyk, Vinicius, Bondar, Matvienko, Pedro Enrique, Ocheretko (Nazarina, 83), Marlon Gomez (Izaki, 65), Pedrigno (Bondarenko, 74), Alisson, Eguinaldo (Neverton, 74), Elias (Traore, 83).
ADVERTISING
Goals: Ocheretko (47) — Sarr (1), Kamada (58), Larsen (84).
Shakhtar started the match against perhaps their strongest opponent in the tournament in a terrible way. Already in the 22nd second of the match, Crystal Palace's Senegalese top scorer Sarr was brought out to meet Riznik, who accurately “shot” into the far corner – 0:1. That's how quickly the Miners made history, conceding the fastest goal in the history of the Conference League.
No matter how much the Donetsk Brazilians and company tried to break through the Londoners' defense before the break, it was all in vain. Not a single shot on target for Austrian Oliver Glasner's team in 45 minutes of play.
ADVERTISING
Ironically, Shakhtar's first shot on target shortly after the break proved to be effective. Ocheretko, after a corner kick and a header from Elias, headed the ball into the net – 1:1.
The guests from Foggy Albion once again “turned on” the maximum, and in the 54th minute only the brilliant reaction of Riznik saved the miners after shots by Sarr and Mateta, later the post played for Shakhtar. But there was no one to prevent the Japanese Kamada from scoring in the 58th minute – 1:2.
Of course, Shakhtar rushed to fight back, but in the 84th minute they ran into an exemplary counterattack by the 13th team in the Premier League, which was masterfully finished by Norwegian Larsen – 1:3. Crystal Palace exposed all the weaknesses of the current Shakhtar.
On Sunday, May 3, Turan's team will face Dynamo Kyiv in the UPL, and the return match against Crystal Palace will take place on May 7 in London.
ADVERTISING
In the other semi-final of the Champions League, Spanish Rayo Vallecano defeated French Strasbourg at home – 1:0 (Alemao, 54).
As you know, the decisive match of the Conference League this season will take place on May 27 in Leipzig, Germany.
We would like to add that the first semi-final matches of the Europa League were played that same evening: Braga (Portugal) – Freiburg (Germany) – 2:1, Nottingham Forest (England) – Aston Villa (England) – 1:0.
Previously, “FACTS” reported that PSG and Bayern scored 9 goals against each other in the first semi-final match of the Champions League.
Photo of FC Shakhtar