UEFA Conference League highlights and round-up: Crystal Palace, Strasbourg and Fiorentina prevail in round of 16 second legs

Crystal Palace and Fiorentina set up a UEFA Conference League quarter-final showdown thanks to round of 16 second-leg victories, while a draw was enough for Strasbourg to progress.

We round up the second-leg deciders, which also featured Shakhtar Donetsk, AZ Alkmaar, Rayo Vallecano, AEK Athens and Mainz earning last-eight spots.

AEK Larnaca 1-2aet Crystal Palace (agg: 1-2)

Ismaïla Sarr struck the opener and the extra-time winner as Crystal Palace earned progress with a hard-fought win in Cyprus.

Sarr rounded Zlatan Alomerović to open the scoring in the 13th minute, but AEK Larnaca bit back in the second half through Enric Saborit's towering header.

The hosts were quickly under pressure again after Saborit was shown a second yellow card ten minutes later and, although they denied Adam Wharton and Daniel Muñoz before the end of normal time, that pressure told when Sarr swept in Daichi Kamada’s 99th-minute cross.

Raków 1-2 Fiorentina (agg: 2-4)

Fiorentina reached a fourth successive Conference League quarter-final, battling back to claim a second 2-1 victory in this tie.

Raków goalkeeper Oliwier Zych saved from Moise Kean and Nicolò Fagioli in the first half, before the hosts registered moments after the interval through Karol Struski's drilled finish.

Roberto Piccoli headed against the post for Fiorentina and then equalised in fortuitous circumstances, Cher Ndour's effort deflecting off him and into the net. With every Raków player up for a late corner, Marin Pongračić sealed progress, shooting into an empty goal from his own half.

AEK Athens 0-2 Celje (agg: 4-2)

AEK Athens survived a scare to progress on aggregate despite losing at home to Celje. The visitors sparked real hopes of a stunning comeback after Nikita Iosifov's early deflected shot beat Thomas Strakosha.

Svit Sešlar then hit the woodwork for Celje and AEK alarm bells were ringing loudly just before the break as Rudi Požeg Vancaš poked home. However, the Slovenian side couldn't get the extra goals they needed to complete the turnaround as the hosts improved in the second half.

Mainz 2-0 Sigma Olomouc (agg: 2-0)

Mainz centre-back Stefan Posch ended the one-and-a-half match wait for a goal in this tie when he applied a glancing header to Paul Nebel's cross early in the second half. The German side promptly kicked on from there, Armindo Sieb finishing a flowing length-of-the-field move in the 82nd minute to ensure their quarter-final progress.

The pressure had been building since before the interval, with Mainz dominant for much of the first half. Phillip Tietz was denied by a last-ditch block after rounding goalkeeper Jan Koutný, while Phillipp Mwene brushed the post with a curling effort.

Rayo Vallecano 0-1 Samsunspor (agg: 3-2)

Rayo Vallecano reached their first European quarter-final in 25 years despite a nervy loss.

The hosts began in attacking fashion, forcing Okan Kocuk into several eye-catching saves. However, it was Samsunspor who went ahead when Cherif Ndiaye slotted in midway through the second half, exchanging passes with Marius Mouandilmadji after a quickfire break and applying the neat, low finish.

The visitors almost levelled the tie with just over 15 minutes remaining, but Mouandilmadji powered his header over the bar.

Shakhtar 1-2 Lech Poznań (agg: 4-3)

Shakhtar held on to reach the quarter-finals despite a 2-1 home defeat on the night against Lech Poznań.

Mikael Ishak connected with Taofeek Ismaheel's precise delivery to head in for the visitors on 13 minutes and then levelled the tie on aggregate with a penalty in first-half added time, becoming the Conference League's all-time record scorer in the process.

However, the decisive goal came midway through the second half, with João Moutinho unfortunate to turn Newertton's cross into his own net.

Sparta Praha 0-4 AZ Alkmaar (agg: 1-6)

AZ posted a comfortable victory in Czechia to stroll into the last eight with a five-goal winning margin on aggregate.

Although Sparta Praha made a bright start, Isak Jensen found the bottom corner through a defender's legs after just eight minutes to put the visitors in control.

Leeroy Echteld's AZ shone even brighter in the second half, Troy Parrott crashing in his third goal of the tie before Sven Mijnans hit a delicious third. Ro-Zangelo Daal then struck on the break to make sure of a quarter-final meeting with Shakhtar.

Strasbourg 1-1 Rijeka (agg: 3-2)

Valentin Barco's maiden UEFA competition goal earned Strasbourg a meeting with Mainz and a first quarter-final appearance in a major European tournament since 1980.

Toni Fruk drew Rijeka level on aggregate with his fifth goal of the campaign, the Croatian international meeting Amer Gojak's pass in the 21st minute. Barco replied 19 minutes from time, settling the tie by hooking in a close-range finish following fine work by Sebastian Nanasi.