Palace will face Shakhtar Donetsk in the quarter-finals.
Oliver Glasner praised Crystal Palace’s resilience after securing their place in the semi-finals of the conference league despite losing 2-1 to Fiorentina in the second leg of the quarterfinals.
Palace headed to Florence with a 3-0 lead from the first leg and the tie looked over after Ismaila Sarr put them ahead on the night to make it 4-0 on aggregate in the 17th minute.
But Albert Gudmundsson equalized from a penalty after a foul by Jaydee Canvot, and the withdrawal of Adam Wharton through injury caused more problems for Palace.
Defender Maxence Lacroix left the field six minutes later, and Fiorentina had hopes of turning the corner when Cher Ndour fired into the bottom left corner from long range eight minutes into the second half.
But Palace defended well to preserve their lead in the tie, setting up a semi-final clash with Shakhtar Donetsk.
“A quarterfinal is never easy and he made it a little harder than it could have been with a great start to the game, taking the lead,” Glasner told TNT Sports.
“Fiorentina regained faith [after the penalty] And then, yes, it was really a very difficult match to manage, to be honest, also for the players. Making two substitutions in the first half reduces the options we had to react.
“That’s why we replaced JP [Mateta] Already at half-time, because we knew he wouldn’t be able to play maybe 90 minutes. And yes, in the second half, it was a great goal. Suddenly we were 2-1 down and it was quite early in the second half. And I think the reaction was great again.
“We didn’t play really attacking football, but we defended very well, and the team showed great resilience today. And in the knockout stages, sometimes you don’t always play the best football. They are unique and different skills. And today it was really about being resilient and working hard, staying together, and the team did that. So I think we didn’t give them a great chance afterwards. That’s why, in both games, I think we deserved to play in the semi-final.”
Crystal Palace overcome injuries in the first half
When asked about the injuries, Glasner took an optimistic tone about Wharton.
“Adam is his adductor. It doesn’t seem that bad but of course we have to evaluate it further,” Glasner added.
“Max, he touched one foot to the other and then he felt his knee. I think the medial ligament. So let’s see. It’s painful. Unfortunately we play again in four days. But you also have to give credit to all the players who came.”
“I think the defense then with Chadi Riyad, Chris Richards and Jaydee Canvot did very well. Also Jeff Lerma and then Will. [Hughes] in the midfield. So yes, we have enough options. That’s good. But today we are celebrating for moving to the semifinals. It is really a great achievement for the players. “It is a huge achievement for Crystal Palace and we are enjoying ourselves tonight.”
Asked about quarter-final opponents Shakhtar, who booked their place before Palace started with a 5-2 aggregate win over AZ Alkmaar, Glasner replied: “I didn’t see them, but I saw their line-up. I think today they started with six Brazilian players. Last time they started with seven and four Ukrainians.
“I played against them once. A couple of years ago with Wolfsburg, just before COVID in the first leg and in the second leg, I think six months later, we lost. At that time, they had a lot of Brazilian players, so I expect them to be a very technical team.
“We have experience with Dynamo kyiv, Shakhtar is number one in Ukraine. But now we will start preparing, watching the games they have played. And then we will be well prepared.
“But of course in between we will play against West Ham and Liverpool, and we also want to do well in the Premier League.”
