Oliver Glasner hailed Crystal Palace’s “huge European night” after the Eagles booked a Conference League final with Rayo Vallecano on an electric evening at Selhurst Park.
Ismaila Sarr now leads the competition with nine goals after scoring in the second half of Palace’s 2-1 semi-final second-leg victory against Shakhtar Donetsk as the hosts settled the tie 5-2 on aggregate.
Daniel Munoz instigated a Pedro Henrique own goal to open the scoring in the 25th minute, cancelled out by Eguinaldo’s stylish equaliser before the break – before Sarr, already instrumental to Palace’s European run, ensured more history will be written this season.
Crystal Palace are in a European final. pic.twitter.com/MukpwIVgag
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) May 7, 2026
“It was electric,” said Glasner. “A fantastic atmosphere. A great night at Selhurst. And of course it was the right result and a huge achievement, huge congratulations and credit to the players.
“The commitment today, the effort, the discipline, was exceptional, and I always believed that we would create chances and score goals.
“At the end we all got the reward with Ismaila Sarr scoring the goal. A huge performance, and a huge European night.”
Palace are now 90 minutes from sealing a trip to the Europa League, the competition they initially thought they had qualified for when they beat Manchester City to win the FA Cup – their first major silverware – last year.
Controversy around multi-club ownership and a failed appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport ultimately resulted in the Eagles being admitted to the Conference League and Nottingham Forest taking the Europa League place.
There was a distinct cheer at Selhurst Park on Thursday night when Palace supporters learned that not only had their side reached a first European final, but that Aston Villa had thrashed Forest 4-0 in the all-English Europa League semi-final to advance 4-1 on aggregate.
Glasner reiterated sentiments he had shared with his side after the FA Cup, telling his players: “These moments you can’t buy. These moments you have to deserve. I think everybody, every single player, every one of the staff, deserved this moment.
“The feeling that you have in this last minute, when you walk around the stadium, on the pitch, this feeling – I think that’s why we all love football.”
