Crystal Palace’s manager, Oliver Glasner, characterized his club’s progression to the Conference League quarter-finals as a “significant accomplishment.”
The Eagles narrowly defeated AEK Larnaca this evening, securing a 2-1 victory in the return leg held in Cyprus. This triumph was attributable to an Ismaila Sarr brace, which flanked Enric Saborit’s equalizer, allowing them to advance after a goalless initial encounter in South London. Sarr also squandered a clear scoring opportunity in the dying moments of added time, while AEK concluded the match with nine men.
As there is no Premier League match this weekend, owing to the EFL Cup final featuring Arsenal and Manchester City, Palace are without a competitive fixture until the opening leg of their last-eight clash with Fiorentina.
Glasner is eagerly anticipating this brief respite to fully appreciate their recent triumph.
“It’s a substantial feat,” he stated to TNT Sports. “We aim to truly maximize these three weeks because our next official match is against Fiorentina at Selhurst Park.
“We will have some days off, and many of our players will join their national squads. Subsequently, we will train and arrange a practice game to maintain our match sharpness.
“This is beneficial. I anticipate Eddie Nketiah’s return, so everyone will contribute, as we face a very congested fixture list until the season’s conclusion, and we hope our European adventure persists.”
Sarr was the driving force behind the victory against AEK and, with more clinical execution, might have scored three goals.
England midfielder Adam Wharton commented: “His performance has been excellent. He’s also been performing strongly in the Premier League, finding the net and providing key passes. He’s exceptionally swift!”