Jorgen Strand Larsen has heaped praises on Crystal Palace’s performance after they eased to a 3-1 win at Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of their Conference League semifinal on Thursday.
The Eagles continued their fine form in Europe with another impressive win that now puts them one foot in a first European final in the club’s history.
Speaking after the result, Larsen who came off the bench to score the third goal of the clash has expressed satisfaction with his side’s display in the match.
“I needed that, I was unlucky last game against Liverpool, so I felt the confidence had dropped a little bit, but always kept on going and it is tough as we have two good players fighting for one spot. To come here and score a goal is just an amazing feeling”, the Norwegian said about scoring his goal.
“You could see after we scored early that they are a good team. We had to stay in, not lose our heads. We are 3-1 up but there is still a game to play. Important for me and the team to get a third.”
Ismaila Sarr opened the scoring after only 21 seconds to put Palace ahead with the fastest goal in the history of the competition.
However, the Ukrainian side equalized in the second half through Oleh Ocheretko.
Then Crystal Palace upped their tempo and scored twice through Daichi Kamada and Larsen, sealing a 3-1 win.
“We know the structure of the manager and the team. We had to accept they are a good team so we had to sit a bit deeper today but we did well on the counter attack – and if we were even better we could have scored more”, Larsen concluded.
Crystal Palace now have a two-goal advantage to take into next week’s second leg at the Selhurst Park, with the winner of the tie advancing to face either Rayo Vallecano or Strasbourg in the final.
Olakitan is a young writer with a strong passion for sports, having gained experience with IndyPress and Nimelssa Press. His enthusiasm for sports inspired him to cover events both within his school and beyond. With a deep understanding of the game and a refined skillset, he brings sports coverage to a broad, global audience in a way that’s engaging and accessible.
