Strand Larsen Strike Gives Palace Crucial Lead In Conference League Semi-Final

Being a club's record signing brings with it a certain pressure. Some players rise to deal with it and others struggle. For Jorgen Strand Larsen, it seemed for a while it was a case of the latter. The Norwegian striker joined Crystal Palace from Wolverhampton Wanderers on 2 February in a deal worth up to £48m, but managed just three Premier League goals in 14 games for the Eagles before Thursday's Conference League semi-final first leg. However, his fourth goal could arguably be his most important as he produced a moment of magic to give Palace a 3-1 lead against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Polish city of Krakow. Substitute Strand Larsen raced on to a pass by Daichi Kamada in the 84th minute, broke into the area and showed excellent composure to sidestep a sliding challenge and then clip in a neat finish over the advancing Shakhtar keeper Dmytro Riznyk. The delightful strike gave Oliver Glasner's side a two-goal cushion going into the second leg at Selhurst Park on Thursday, 7 May, and they surely have one foot in a first major European final. "We were not sure if he had had a touch and that is what is impressive, the calmness and then to dink it into the corner," said former Tottenham and England midfielder Glenn Hoddle on TNT Sports. "If that was Harry Kane scoring that goal we would all be saying 'wow what a beautiful goal'." If Strand Larsen take the momentum and confidence from his goal then Palace have an impressive forward line that other sides remaining in the Conference League cannot compare to. In Jean-Philippe Mateta they have a player who has 13 goals in all competitions this season despite a desire to leave, putting him on course to challenge his tallies of 19 and 17 in his last two seasons at the club. Meanwhile, Ismaila Sarr is the leading scorer in this season's Conference League with eight goals - five in the knockout stages - and 18 for this campaign overall. His latest strike, which gave Palace a 21st-second lead against Shakhtar, was the fastest goal ever scored in the Conference League. There is plenty of competition for places in the Palace forward line but, it would seem, all are willing to play their part from either in the starting XI or off the bench. "I needed that," admitted Strand Larsen, 26. "It's tough, two good players [he and Mateta] fighting for one spot, but to come in and score is amazing. "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." On their impressive European run, Palace have shown they are not just about individuals, but a team stepping up when it matters. Japan midfielder Kamada had not scored since October 2024 before his composed finish on Thursday restored Palace's lead just as Shakhtar looked to be taking control following their equaliser at 1-1. Palace fans were in great spirits before the match in Krakow, and there's a feeling that all connected with the club are pulling in the same direction. There could be an air of sadness for the remainder of the campaign with boss Glasner, who led Palace to a fairytale FA Cup victory last season, just two games away from European glory before he departs this summer. But spirits instead seem high as the club work together to achieve the goal of winning more silverware. "It's an amazing group of people, of men, of characters," said Glasner, who won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022. "There is such a big spirit and great togetherness and we always believe in ourselves. "There is no button we can press to switch it on. It is something we have created over months and years - that we know we can always come back and score a goal."