Conference League semi-final second leg: Crystal Palace vs Shakhtar Donetsk facts
Friday, May 1, 2026
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Shakhtar Donetsk must record a first-ever win on English soil to keep alive their UEFA Conference League semi-final with Crystal Palace, who hold a 3-1 lead ahead of the second leg at Selhurst Park.
It took Palace just 21 seconds to open the scoring in the first leg in Krakow on 30 April, Ismaïla Sarr's goal the fastest in Conference League history. Oleh Ocheretko levelled for Shakhtar two minutes after the break in Krakow, but Palace took a firm grip on the tie thanks to goals from Daichi Kamada (58) and substitute Jørgen Strand Larsen (84).
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).
Shakhtar, the first Ukrainian club to reach the semi-finals of the Conference League, 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 in the round of 16 (3-1 a, 1-2 h). They finished sixth in the league phase on 13 points.
Last match
The first leg was the teams' first meeting.
Crystal Palace's sole previous match against a Ukrainian team prior to that was their 2-0 win against Dynamo Kiev on Matchday 1 of this season's league phase.
Shakhtar have won only five of their 20 contests with English opponents (D4 L11), and none of the last six (D1 L5) since a 2-1 victory at home to Manchester City on Matchday 6 of the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League group stage. They have failed to score in six of their last nine matches against English teams, conceding 21 goals.
Shakhtar have never won in England, where their record is D2 L8. Their most recent visit brought a 0-1 defeat at Arsenal in the league phase of last season's Champions League.
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).
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.
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.
Key stats
This is the first European semi-final between English and Ukrainian teams.
Palace have won their last four two-legged European ties.
The English side have lost only three of their 15 Conference League matches this season (W8 D4).
Palace are unbeaten in their last five home European games (W3 D2) with clean sheets in the three most recent games.
The London club have won both European ties in which they were victorious in the first leg, although this is the first time they have won away in the opening game.
Sarr has scored in Crystal Palace’s last four Conference League matches, netting five goals in that run. He is the joint‑top scorer in the competition proper this season with eight goals, alongside eliminated pair Mikael Ishak (Lech Poznań) and Marius Mouandilmadji (Samsunspor).
Shakhtar have been beaten in all six European ties in which they lost the first leg by a two-goal margin.