Crystal Palace 3-0 Fiorentina: Eagles fly towards semi-final | OneFootball

Crystal Palace ran out 3-0 winners over Fiorentina at Selhurst Park last night in front of more than 22,000 fans.

Jean-Philippe Mateta opened the scoring from the penalty spot for Palace, before Tyrick Mitchell doubled their advantage before the break with a close-range finish.

Ismaïla Sarr wrapped up the win for the hosts late in the night, finding the top corner from inside the penalty area.

As It Happened

Fiorentina flew out of the blocks, with Roberto Piccoli’s right-footed shot being blocked inside the opening minute. Palace’s first attempt on goal came through Mateta in the seventh minute, but the Frenchman couldn’t direct his header on target. Dodo picked up the first yellow card of the night in the 21st minute, having conceded a penalty for a foul on Evann Geussand, which was then calmly dispatched down the middle of the goal by Mateta to give the hosts the lead.

The visitors looked to get back on level terms straight away, but Albert Gudmundsson’s strike flew high and wide of the Palace goal. Minutes later, the Eagles doubled their lead through Mitchell, who pounced on a rebounding ball, slotting it past David De Gea and into the far bottom corner.

De Gea was called into action again shortly before the break, this time to deny teenage defender Jaydee Canvot’s long-range effort. Canvot’s centre-back partner, Maxence Lacroix, also came close moments later but headed wide of the target, drawing the first half to a close.

Giovanni Fabbian rattled the crossbar early in the second 45 for La Viola as they continued to search for a route back into the game. Crystal Palace keeper Dean Henderson made his first two saves of the night on the hour mark, denying Gudmundsson and Piccoli with strong saves.

Oliver Glasner turned to his bench for the first time in the 65th minute, with Yéremi Pino replacing Guessand. Piccoli came close a few minutes later, but his header drifted wide of the net, he was shown a yellow card for a bad foul on Lacroix. Palace’s first booking of the night was handed to Chris Richards, following a foul on Fiorentina’s Chris Ndour.

A double change followed for the visitors, which saw Jack Harrison and Robin Gosens withdrawn for Jacopo Fazzini and Luis Balbo. Mateta and Sarr looked to add a third for Palace with ten minutes left on the clock, but neither player could find the target. More changes followed for both sides, with Mateta making way for Jefferson Lerma and Marin Pongracic replaced by Pietro Comuzzo.

Palace got their third goal in the 90th minute, when Sarr’s header flew past De Gea and nestled into the top corner from inside the box. Fiorentina threw one last roll of the dice in injury time, when Rolando Mandragora replaced Nicolo Fagioli, and Gundmundsson was withdrawn in favour of Giorgio Puzzoli.

Pino nearly added a fourth goal for the hosts, but his strike was blocked inside the penalty area. Glasner made another double change in the final minute of the game, with Will Hughes and Brennan Johnson making a brief cameo as they replaced Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada, confirming a huge win for Crystal Palace as they continue to build towards winning the Europa Conference League this season.