Spring is in the air and it’s all beaming smiles again at Crystal Palace. A sensational performance blew away Fiorentina as Jean-Philippe Mateta scored on his first start since the end of January, Tyrick Mitchell added a second before Ismaïla Sarr’s late header left Oliver Glasner’s side with one foot in the semi-finals in their debut European campaign.
Until now, Palace’s performances in front of their own fans in the Conference League have been far from impressive. But having had the luxury of three weeks to prepare for this match, Glasner showed why he has such a good record in knockout competitions in recent seasons as his team executed their gameplan perfectly.
Fiorentina – who have reached the last eight of the Conference League for four consecutive seasons and lost in two finals – had no answer and could have found themselves completely out of the tie by the break. But Sarr’s late strike after Mateta had missed a late sitter meant they will require a miraculous comeback when Palace travel to Florence for next week’s second leg.
Mateta was denied the opportunity to move to Serie A after failing his medical with Milan in January having made no secret of his desire to leave Palace. All appeared to have been forgiven when the France striker received a hearty reception after being substituted late on having scored from the spot, even if he could easily have ended the evening with a hat-trick after replacing the suspended Jørgen Strand Larsen.
