Crystal Palace’s debut European campaign has been fraught with nerves the whole way through, and their progression to the semi-finals of the UEFA Conference League followed that same script.
Their healthy 3-0 lead going into the second leg against Fiorentina meant there was some margin for error, but a 2-1 defeat at the Stadio Artemio Franchi was more nervy than the scoreline suggested. Despite an excellent opening half-hour, Palace faded in a fashion that has become all too familiar over the course of the season.
But the aggregate result was never truly at risk. Admittedly, there was an element of worry when the Italian side gained momentum and the fearsome backing of the home crowd after taking the lead on the night, but the visitors weathered the storm and shut the game down sufficiently.
It has been an awkward campaign but as manager Oliver Glasner has said repeatedly, most of this squad has never played in Europe before. He has not been able to comprehend how there can be talk of Palace being favourites to win the competition, given their limited experience. But his knowledge of winning the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022 is significant.
Oliver Glasner’s European track record should come in handy for Palace (Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)
This victory over Fiorentina, and Palace’s continued ability to win ugly, is a demonstration of their quality as a team, the strength of their character as well as their determination and resilience. It is a major reason why they deserve to be considered front-runners in this competition.
“Every single game, every single experience helps us to grow individually and as a team,” Glasner said in his post-match press conference.
“You can’t always expect brilliant football in the knockout stage. It’s important to do the things that are necessary to win. Today, it was necessary after the second Fiorentina goal to defend very well and control the game with a very well-organised and hardworking defence. This is what the team did.”
They will, however, need to learn from their run to date and apply themselves in the way they did at Selhurst Park a week ago across both legs of their semi-final against Shakhtar Donetsk — and in the final if they make it there.
Their progression may have come at a cost in both Europe and the Premier League, depending on the severity of injuries picked up by Adam Wharton and Maxence Lacroix.
The injuries and the Fiorentina penalty seemed to knock Palace out of their rhythm after a strong start. Those concerns over two of their most important players may also affect them in the Premier League, where they will be looking to finish the season strongly.
Lacroix has played the most minutes of any Palace player this season with 4,060 and has been a commanding, assured presence in the backline on which Glasner heaped praise. He was injured after clashing knees with Daniel Munoz with a typically committed piece of defending.
Tyrick Mitchell battles for the ball with Jack Harrison of Fiorentina (Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)
But these injuries would not only be a blow to Palace’s hopes of climbing the Premier League table and ambition to win the Conference League but also to those two players’ World Cup ambitions, which they will desperately hope are not at risk.
Lacroix, recently capped by France for the first time, will be hoping to sneak a place in their World Cup squad after such a strong season in club football. If there is any lengthy lay-off this close to the summer, those hopes would likely disappear.
Wharton’s presence was missed after his removal, having helped dictate play and facilitate counter-attacks from which Palace threatened through Ismaila Sarr in particular, and he too will have a place at the World Cup, with England, in sight.
All things considered, it has been a bruising tie, with Evann Guessand taken off in the first leg due to a knee injury, which Glasner said in his pre-match press conference would keep the forward out for “several weeks”.
The early part of this tie gave hope that Palace might breeze past Fiorentina. In the end, it was slightly soured by defeat on the night and the injuries.
Palace are through, though. It was more nervy than they would have liked and they will desperately hope that those injuries are minor, otherwise their progression will have come at a significant cost, both to the team and those two of their most important players individually.
This season has shown, both in the Premier League and in Europe, that they are able to fight their way through adversity. If the injuries are serious enough to cause problems for them, then there will be a belief that solutions will be found.
If the news is positive, then there is every reason to be optimistic that not only can they progress in Europe, but they can climb the Premier League table too.
For all the tension that has been a consistent theme in their Conference League campaign, Palace have shown that they don’t have to be perfect to progress in the competition. Victory over Fiorentina only serves to reinforce that.
