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HALF-TIME: Shakhtar Donetsk 0-1 Crystal Palace
Ismaïla Sarr’s goal, delivered after 21 seconds, is the difference at the break.
Updated at 15.49 EDT
45 min: We’ve lost the manic energy of the first 15 minutes. But here come Palace, working it from the left wing to the right … Muñoz sends in a teasing low ball but Sarr can’t get there, Riznyk collecting.
44 min: Now it’s Pino’s turn to get a yellow, taking down Tobías inside Shakhtar’s half.
43 min: Richards sends in the throw for Palace but Shakhtar deal with it well enough.
42 min: Riznyk tries to dink the ball but it deflects off Pino, pressing high up the pitch. It leads to a long-throw chance on the left …
40 min: Riznyk collects from the corner.
39 min: Wharton’s ball beats everyone but Palace have a corner, with Lacroix waving his arms up and down to get the travelling support going.
38 min: Tobías is a touch reckless as he slides in on Mitchell and Palace have a free-kick out on the left … yellow for the Shakhtar right-back.
37 min: Mateta holds the ball up as Palace get moving on the counter, travelling down the left.
35 min: Pedrinho can’t find a teammate.
34 min: Muñoz commits a foul and Shakhtar have a free-kick from the left … Pedrinho’s over it.
33 min: Mitchell has room out on the left but Palace’s advance breaks down after a foul by Sarr.
30 min: Wharton breaks free for Palace – and is pulled down by the halfway line. Ocheretko gets a yellow for his efforts.
Referee Felix Zwayer shows a yellow card to Shakhtar Donetsk’s Oleg Ocheretko for a foul on Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton (second left). Photograph: Wojtek Radwański/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 15.50 EDT
29 min: Kamada overcooks a diagonal ball searching for Muñoz.
28 min: Oliver Glasner barks out the orders. His side have barely had any of the ball … but Shakhtar are still waiting for their first clear-cut chance.
27 min: Shakhtar continue to win corners … Palace continue to head them away.
26 min: The tenacious Kauā Elias wins the ball of Pino on the wing as Shakhtar refuse to let Palace break away.
25 min: Corner to Shakhtar … but Lacroix heads away. Richards delivers a crucial interception at the far post. Another corner it is.
24 min: Pedro Henrique has a cross headed away as Shakhtar regain control.
23 min: The ball breaks nicely for Kamada … but he overhits his pass. A touch of precision and Mateta would have been in for a one-on-one.
21 min: Palace finally get a decent hold of the ball. Wharton can’t cut through Shakhtar after trying to find Muñoz.
20 min: Here comes Pedro Henrique again, with Eguinaldo ahead of him on the left wing. But Palace’s wall holds.
17 min: Shakhtar are playing at a decent pace, not keen to aimlessly roll it around at the back. Pedro Henrique, the left-back, surges forward in search of an opening.
16 min: Wharton is late with a challenge on Alisson Santana, who is already looking rather dangerous on the right.
14 min: Palace are camped inside their own half and another defensive block is required from a shot inside the area.
12 min: Alisson Santana breaks free on the right for Shakhtar, crosses and Eguinaldo nails a first-time volley … Daniel Muñoz gets in the way. Shakhtar appeal for a handball … and well, you never know nowadays. It’s not given. Turan’s team are starting to look the part.
11 min: Henderson collects a teasing inswinger.
10 min: Pino takes a Shakhtar shirt down and the Ukrainian side have a free-kick from the right … it turns into a corner after Richards heads away.
7 min: Pino is down by the edge of his own area. Turan’s smile has gone.
6 min: Adam Wharton threatens from the edge of the area after a tidy layoff from Sarr – Riznyk gets down low to collect, fairly comfortably. Nonetheless, Palace look very lively.
4 min: Shakhtar get a feel of the ball at the back. They’re already under the pump.
Mateta and Pino play a bit of foot-volley on the edge of the area before the Frenchman slips in Sarr, driving through the right channel. He keeps his cool inside the area and rolls the ball into the far corner. Twenty-one seconds is all it took.
Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr fires home to give the visitors a very, very early lead. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/ReutersSarr celebrates. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/ReutersShare
Updated at 15.09 EDT
GOAL! Shakhtar Donestk 0-1 Crystal Palace (Sarr 1)
Just seconds!
SharePeeeep!
Arda Turan’s got a beaming smile on his face. Palace kick things off in this European semi-final.
The players walk out of the tunnel. Shakhtar’s players each wear the Ukrainian flag.
The Shakhtar Donetsk and Crystal Palace players line up. Photograph: Radosław Jóźwiak/PAShare
Updated at 15.38 EDT
If you don’t want to hang out here, this is the link for the other one:
Darijo Srna, former Croatia international and director of football at Shakhtar, speaks to TNT:
double quotation markI’m not just sporting director. Sometimes I’m father, mother, sister, brother, grandpa … we have a young team, lot of young players tonight from Brazil, they need adaptation, sometimes it’s not easy during the night, rockets, sirens, but we are united, we are together. And we are here to play football. We are here to give positive emotions to the Ukrainian people tonight.
Glasner makes one change from the Palace side that started against Liverpool: Brennan Johnson is replaced by Yeremy Pino. Shakhtar have seven Brazilians in their XI, as pointed out by Glasner, speaking to TNT. “It’s really awesome what we’ve done together,” he says of the European journey. “Now it’s sticking to our principles, play with confidence, trust in what we are doing.”
ShareThe teams
Shakhtar Donetsk: Riznyk, Tobías, Bondar, Matviyenko, Pedro Henrique, Ocheretko, Alisson Santana, Pedrinho, Marlon Gomes, Eguinaldo, Kauã Elias
Subs: Tvardovskyi, Traoré, Marlon Santos, Newertton, Isaque, Azarov, Ghram, Bondarenko, Nazaryna, Lucas Ferreira, Luca Meirelles, Obah
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Canvot, Muñoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell, Sarr, Mateta, Pino
Subs: Matthews, Benítez, Lerma, Johnson, Clyne, Hughes, Strand Larsen, Sosa, Riad, Devenny, Cardines
There’s also this interview with Turan by Nick Ames from last July to get stuck into. He’s learned from the best.
double quotation markWith Simeone and Luis Enrique I had very valuable chats and discussions. They were excellent teachers but I also believe good students should improve on what they have been taught. I have a lot of positives in my pocket and now I’m trying to put them into practice on the pitch.
And here’s Ed on Palace and Glasner, who won the Europa League at Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022.
Here’s Ed Aarons’ excellent piece on Shakhtar’s journey.
double quotation markShakhtar reached the last four of the Europa League in 2016 and 2020 before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 changed everything. Most of the club’s foreign players departed after special Fifa regulations allowed them to leave for free. Shakhtar failed with a claim for up to €50m in compensation and were forced to start from scratch.
SharePreamble
Yes, the one in Nottingham is a tantalising fixture … but this’ll be good, too, promise. Oliver Glasner has entered the final weeks of his spell at Crystal Palace with a prize still available; the club who took 120 years to win their first major trophy could make it two in two. They’re in Krakow after sweeping aside Fiorentina in the quarters, a 3-0 win at home in the first leg allowing for a 2-1 loss in the second.
In the other corner, Arda Turan’s Shakhtar Donetsk. The former Atlético Madrid and Turkey midfielder is on his way to a league title in his first season at the helm, with Shakhtar eyeing up their second European trophy – they won the Uefa Cup in 2009, right before the Europa League rebrand. His side are here after a 5-2 aggregate victory over AZ Alkmaar. All of their Conference League “home” games this season have been played at the Henryk Reyman Municipal Stadium, owing to obvious reasons. “There is war in Ukraine and yet people live their lives,” said Turan. “Every day shows that this nation never gives up.” We get going at 8pm BST.
Updated at 13.27 EDT