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Crystal Palace v Shakhtar Donetsk: Europa Conference League semi-final, second leg – live | Conference League
Key events
76 mins: Almost game over here, as Munoz feeds the ball into Larsen, who turns his marker and sees his close-range shot ping away off Riznyk’s heel.
75 mins: A change for Shakhtar as Brazilian playmaker Pedrinho is replaced by Brazilian playmaker Lucas Ferreira. Lassina Traoré gets a shot away, but it takes a deflection and bobbles through to Henderson.
73 mins: Kamada draws a foul in the Palace half to end a spell of lukewarm Shakhtar pressure. Elsewhere, Freiburg are 3-0 up (4-2 on agg) against Braga, and are heading to the Europa League final in Istanbul.
71 mins: The game has lost its rhythm, with Palace’s second goal taking the wind from Shakhtar sails. Jorgen Strand Larsen is on for Mateta, Oli Glasner’s first change of the night.
“In response to Mitchell, whilst I understand the sentiment if you removed the ‘big five’ leagues, then would the attendances at the games be enough to finance the competition?” wonders Ian.
I think that’s the difficulty – it’s devalued if it’s not a truly Europe-wide tournament. On the other hand, it’s looking like an England-Spain final again, albeit one with a more romantic vibe than last year.
Aston Villa lead 2-0 on the night, and 2-1 on aggregate. Can Forest fight back? John Brewin is watching.
65 mins: Pedrinho gets his half-volley on target, Henderson grabbing the ball to his left – but the offside flag has gone up.
An alternative argument: “The Conference League is a great competition isn’t it?” writes John Breenan. “A possible final between Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano, what’s not to like about that?”
John also wonders: “After the furore about dropping down to Conference League, has it been better for Palace than being in the Europa League?” Palace fans, get in touch.
61 mins: From the throw-in, the ball bobbles across goal where is met by Mateta’s telescopic leg. Sadly, his effort is overhit and flies off in the direction of the South Norwood Morley’s.
60 mins: Mitchell, who alongside fellow wing-back Munoz has been excellent, takes aim from 25 yards out but sees his shot deflected away for a throw in.
“Unpopular opinion,” warns Mitchell Porter. “I think that we should remove the top five European leagues from the Conference League and keep it for the leagues that don’t have their finances.”
59 mins: The Palace back three stroke the ball around, trying to build those possession stats – it’s currently 68% to 32% in Shakhtar’s favour. Not that it really matters.
56 mins: Changes for Shakhtar, as Lassina Traore replaces the busy but wasteful Elias. Newerton is also on, replacing holding midfielder Oleh Ocheretko.
That was Palace at their devastating best on the break, and Shakhtar now need three goals to force extra time. “Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, we’re going to Germany,” sing the exultant home fans.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 2-1 Shakhtar (5-2 on agg) Sarr 52′
Palace break away in trademark style and after the referee plays at least two advantages, Mitchell crosses and Sarr flicks across goal, and in off the far post!
51 mins: Save! An unfortunate ricochet presents the ball to Elias, who drills it low and hard from a tight angle. Dean Henderson stands up and gets a foot on the ball …
50 mins: Isaque shows a first flash of skill as he tries to thread a pass into Elias’ feet – but it’s just overhit and Henderson snaffles the ball.
48 mins: Wharton links up with Mitchell, whose cross just evades Mateta. Wharton picks it up again and lifts the ball back into the mixer, where Riznyk grabs it under pressure from Mateta and Munoz.
47 mins: Will Palace look to be a touch less reactive in this half? They’ve started with a steady spell of midfield possession …
Second half
Arda Turan makes a second Shakhtar change, with Alisson Santana heading off. He’s replaced by Isaque Silva, a teenage talent from (you guessed it) Brazil.
Rayo Vallecano lead Strasbourg 1-0 (2-0 on agg) at half-time, and are on course for the final in Leipzig. Which begs the question: are Rayo the Spanish Crystal Palace? It feels like a good fit, but thoughts welcome.
Elsewhere at half-time, Villa lead Forest 1-0, making it 1-1 on aggregate. The winner will probably play Freiburg in the Europa League final; they lead 2-0 (3-2 on agg) at home to 10-man Braga.
“In the light of Peter Oh’s email (best of the season, I’d contend), I’ll be really happy with either of these teams going through, and either of Forest or Villa too,” writes Gary Naylor.
“What I’m wondering is whether that makes for a better night than the usual partisan stance of wanting the usual suspects sent packing ASAP? I suspect not – a bit sadly.”
Half time: Crystal Palace 1-1 Shakhtar (4-2 on agg)
Palace emerge from a testing first half with their two-goal cushion intact. Pedro Henrique’s own goal put them in charge, but Eguinaldo’s silky equaliser means Shakhtar aren’t done just yet.
45+2 mins: Shakhtar’s final attacking foray of the half ends with Pedro Henrique fouling Sarr.
45 mins: Three minutes of stoppage time. In the other semi-final, Rayo Vallecano lead Strasbourg 1-0 on the night, and 2-0 on aggregate. Good news for el coeficiente.
Palace hit the post! After soaking up a spell of pressure, Palace push forward and Mateta connects acrobatically with Munoz’s cross. His effort beats Riznyk but clips the outside of the post!
No penalty! The ball hit Mateta on the thigh and bounced on to his arm – and VAR doesn’t seek to intervene after the referee waves play on.
40 mins: Palace are hanging on a bit as half-time approaches, and Shakhtar have a corner, pinged towards the near post by Alisson – and there’s a big shout for handball!
There’s a goal at Villa Park – but which way has it gone, John Brewin?
37 mins: Shakhtar still need two goals to pull level on aggregate, but they look capable. Alisson is involved again here, thudding an effort a few feet over the bar.
35 mins: Woof! Seconds after the restart, Sarr sends a long shot not far wide of goal. The pace is relentless.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-1 Shakhtar (4-2 agg) Eguinaldo 33′
Shakhtar keep the ball and Henrique slips it sideways to Eguinaldo, who takes a touch and gently lifts the ball into the top corner! There’s a split-second of confusion before the away fans celebrate.
32 mins: Munoz storms upfield and hits a shot straight at Riznyk, and Shakhtar counter at equivalent speed, with Alisson’s shot well blocked at the far post …
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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