Conference League semi-final first leg: Shakhtar Donetsk vs Crystal Palace facts
Thursday, April 23, 2026
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Shakhtar Donetsk, the first Ukrainian team to reach the UEFA Conference League semi-final, face Crystal Palace in Kraków in the first leg of their last-four tie.
Shakhtar were 5-2 aggregate winners against AZ Alkmaar in in the quarter-finals (3-0 h, 2-2 a), after beating Lech Poznań 4-3 on aggregate in the round of 16 (3-1 a, 1-2 h). They finished sixth in the league phase on 13 points.
Palace reached their first UEFA semi-final thanks to a 4-2 aggregate success against Fiorentina in the quarter-finals (3-0 h, 1-2 a), having edged past AEK Larnaca (0-0 h, 2-1 a aet). The London club had finished tenth with as many points in the league phase and subsequently beat Zrinjski 3-1 on aggregate in the knockout phase play-offs (1-1 a, 2-0 h).
Last match
This the teams' first meeting.
Shakhtar have won only five of their 19 contests with English opponents (D4 L10), and none of the last five (D1 L4) since a 2-1 victory at home to Manchester City on Matchday 6 of the 2017/18 Champions League group stage. They have failed to score in six of their last eight matches against English teams, conceding 18 goals.
All five of Shakhtar's wins against Premier League opposition have come at home, where their record is W5 D2 L2.
This is Shakhtar's third knockout ties involving an English team. They beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 on aggregate in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup round of 32 (2-0 h, 1-1 a), but lost 2-3 to Fulham at the same stage of the inaugural UEFA Europa League the following year (1-2 a, 1-1 h).
Crystal Palace's sole previous match against a Ukrainian team was their 2-0 win against Dynamo Kiev on Matchday 1 of this season's league phase.
Shakhtar are appearing in their fourth European semi‑final. They beat Dynamo Kyiv 3-2 on aggregate in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup (1-1 a, 2-1 h), lost 3-5 to Sevilla in the 2015/16 Europa League (2-2 h, 1-3 a), and were defeated 0-5 by Inter in the one-off 2019/20 Europa League semi‑final.
A 2-1 extra-time win against Werder Bremen in Istanbul gave Shakhtar victory in the last UEFA Cup final in 2009, their only European trophy.
This is only Palace's second season in UEFA competition and a first since their 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup campaign, where they lost 0-4 on aggregate against Samsunspor in the third round (0-2 h, 0-2 a).
The Eagles are featuring in a major European semi-final for the first time. They are the fifth English club to reach the Conference League semi‑finals, after Leicester (2021/22), West Ham (2022/23), Aston Villa (2023/24) and Chelsea (2024/25). West Ham and Chelsea won their semi‑final ties and went on to lift the trophy.
Key stats
This is the first European semi-final between teams from Ukraine and England.
Shakhtar are the first Ukrainian team to reach the last four of a UEFA club competition since their 2019/20 Europa League run. The last Ukrainian side to win a semi‑final were Dnipro, who defeated Napoli 2-1 on aggregate in the 2014/15 Europa League.
The Donetsk side have lost only two of their 18 European games this season (W10 D6).
Shakhtar have lost the first leg in only one of their last 29 European ties (W17 D11).
Crystal Palace have won their last four two-legged European ties.
The Eagles have lost only three of their 14 Conference League matches (W7 D4).
Ismaïla Sarr has scored in Crystal Palace’s last three European games, four goals in total.