The Eagles had to battle to earn the right to take on Fiorentina in the last eight as a spirited Larnaca side pushed the visitors all the way.
MATCH INFORMATION
|
19 March 2026 – 5.45pm |
|
AEK Larnaca 1-2 Crystal Palace |
|
Conference League |
|
AEK Arena |
PLAYER RATINGS
|
44 |
Walter BENITEZ |
6.2 |
|
11 |
Brennan JOHNSON (2 Daniel MUNOZ 60 mins) |
6.3 (6.6) |
|
26 |
Chris RICHARDS (8 Jefferson LERMA 76 mins) |
6.6 (6.4) |
|
5 |
Maxence LACROIX © |
6.9 |
|
23 |
Jaydee CANVOT (14 Jean-Philippe MATETA 83 mins) |
6.8 (6.1) |
|
3 |
Tyrick MITCHELL |
6.7 |
|
20 |
Adam WHARTON (19 Will HUGHES 119 mins) |
7.0 (6.0) |
|
18 |
Daichi KAMADA |
6.9 |
|
7 |
Ismaila SARR |
8.7 |
|
29 |
Evann GUESSAND (10 Yeremy PINO 76 mins) |
6.5 (6.7) |
|
22 |
Jorgen Strand LARSEN |
6.8 |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES; 17 Nathaniel CLYNE, 24 Borna SOSA, 31 Remi MATTHEWS, 34 Chadi RIAD, 52 Jackson IZQUIERDO, 55 Justin DEVENNY, 59 Rio CARDINES
|
1 |
Zlatan ALOMEROVIC |
6.6 |
|
4 |
Enric SABORIT |
5.5 |
|
15 |
Hrvoje MILICEVIC |
6.4 |
|
14 |
Angel GARCIA (13 Yahav GURFINKEL 79 mins) |
6.3 (6.2) |
|
22 |
Godswill EKPOLO |
6.5 |
|
2 |
Petros IOANNOU |
5.7 |
|
7 |
Gus LEDES |
6.7 |
|
8 |
Marcus ROHDEN (25 Charalambos KYRIAKOU 89 mins) |
6.8 (6.1) |
|
17 |
Pere PONS (32 Robert MUDRAZIJA 106 mins) |
6.7 (6.0) |
|
9 |
Djordje IVANOVIC (27 Valentin ROBERGE 79 mins) |
6.5 (6.1) |
|
11 |
Riad BAJIC (30 Enzo CABRERA 76 mins; 10 Waldo RUBIO 112 mins) |
6.9 (6.6; 6.0) |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES; 36 Christos LOUKAIDIS, 41 Mathias GONZALEZ, 51 Andreas PARASKEVAS, 99 Demetris DEMETRIOU
POST GAME QUOTES
OLIVER GLASNER
“It’s a huge achievement. We are looking forward to really make the best of these three weeks because our next competitive game is against Fiorentina at Selhurst Park.
We will have a few days off and many of our players go to their national teams, and then we will prepare and make a friendly to stay in the rhythm.
It’s good. I expect Eddie Nketiah back so everybody will help us because then it will be a very tight schedule until the end of the season and hopefully our European journey continues.”
ADAM WHARTON
“He [Sarr] has been top. He has been doing well in the Premier League as well. He has been scoring goals and getting assists. He is so quick!”
MATCH STATISTICS
|
Star Man |
Ismaila SARR (8.7) |
|
Goals |
Ismaila SARR (14, 99 ET), Enric SABORIT (63) |
|
Assists |
Marcus ROHDEN (63), Diachi KAMADA (99 ET) |
|
Total shots |
6 – 29 |
|
Shots on target |
3 – 7 |
|
Yellow cards |
Chris RICHARDS (28), Enric SABORIT (33), Maxence LACROIX (53). Jorgen Strand LARSEN (84), Valentin ROBERGE (120) |
|
Red cards |
Enric SABORIT (73), Petros IOANNOU (120) |
|
Possession |
30% – 70% |
|
Pass success |
66.7% – 88.3% |
|
Passes |
297 – 693 |
|
Tackles |
13 – 17 |
|
Aerial duals |
11 – 25 |
|
Fouls |
7 – 21 |
|
Corners |
1 – 10 |
|
Saves |
4 – 2 |
TEB VERDICT
It was a tough two-legged affair against the Cypriots but you would expect nothing less in European competition, and while the performance in each of the ties were not noteworthy, the important thing is that Palace are a step closer to the final in Leipzig.
The frustration of Oliver Glasner was there for all to see on the touchline, and he took a booking for the cause during a game where the hosts were using all the antics they could muster to distract the Eagles.
A brace from Ismaila Sarr was the difference with Larnaca ending the game with just nine men on the pitch. The Senegalese attacker could have and really should have taken the match ball back home to South London, but you have to wonder what we would have done this season without him.
The result over the two legs has earned the club an enticing quarter final match up against Fiorentina who are struggling this season in Serie A but have found their way into the last eight.
This result is more about the accomplishment than the performance and what it could bring when taking on the better teams in this competition.
UPCOMING FIXTURES
|
DATE |
TEAM |
LOCATION |
COMPETITION |
KICK OFF TIME |
|
09/04/2026 |
Fiorentina |
Home |
Conference League |
TBC |
|
11/04/2026* |
Newcastle United |
Home |
Premier League |
3pm |
|
20/04/2026 |
West Ham United |
Home |
Premier League |
8pm |
|
25/04/2026 |
Liverpool |
Away |
Premier League |
3pm |
*fixture subject to change
