Crystal Palace bersiap menjamu Shakhtar Donetsk pada pertandingan leg kedua semifinal Liga Konferensi Eropa di Selhurst Park, Kamis malam, 7 Mei 2026. Klub asal London selatan tersebut saat ini memegang keunggulan agregat 3-1 setelah memenangkan pertemuan pertama di markas tim asal Ukraina tersebut.
Laga ini berpotensi menjadi salah satu momen terakhir Oliver Glasner sebelum meninggalkan posisinya sebagai manajer pada akhir musim nanti. Pelatih asal Austria berusia 51 tahun tersebut sebelumnya telah membawa The Eagles menjuarai Piala FA 2025 dan Community Shield pada awal musim ini.
Menjelang pertandingan krusial tersebut, Glasner menegaskan fokus timnya adalah meraih prestasi tertinggi di kancah Eropa. Ia meminta para pemain untuk tetap tenang dan tidak terlarut dalam suasana emosional terkait rencana kepergiannya dari klub.
"I made my decision and I have my reasons, but as I've always said, we want to end the season in the best possible way -- and now we have the chance to do it" ujar Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
Glasner memberikan motivasi kepada anak asuhnya agar mengejar kemenangan demi kebanggaan klub dan para pendukung setia. Mantan pelatih Eintracht Frankfurt tersebut ingin Palace kembali merasakan manisnya mengangkat trofi seperti tahun lalu.
"Now is not the time to get melancholic. It's about staying focused" ucap Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
Pelatih tersebut mengingatkan bahwa kesuksesan di kompetisi ini akan memastikan partisipasi Palace di kompetisi Eropa musim depan. Ia menggunakan analogi keberhasilan tim di masa lalu untuk memacu semangat juang para pemainnya di lapangan.
"I tell the players very often: don't do anything for me, do it for yourselves, do it for the club, do it for the fans, because winning the Conference League means European football again next year at Selhurst" kata Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
Dalam konferensi persnya, Glasner menyebut timnya sangat lapar akan gelar juara setelah kegagalan di Piala FA musim ini. Ia meyakini para pemain memiliki ambisi besar untuk melaju hingga partai final di Leipzig pada 27 Mei mendatang.
"The players tasted the honey last year with the FA Cup. This year it's the Conference League and they want honey again. They won't be happy with just avocado, so they want it a bit sweeter" tutur Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
Meskipun memiliki keunggulan skor, Glasner tetap mewaspadai potensi kejutan dari lawan. Ia memperingatkan bahwa Shakhtar tetap merupakan lawan yang berbahaya meski baru saja dikalahkan Bournemouth di liga domestik pekan lalu.
"We will need another great performance, but of course we will play the game with a lot of confidence at home. We know we will have fantastic support from our fans" jelas Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
Terkait kondisi skuad, Will Hughes dilaporkan telah pulih dari sakit dan siap dimainkan. Namun, Palace masih harus kehilangan beberapa pemain kunci akibat cedera dalam laga penentuan menuju partai puncak tersebut.
"The good news is that Will Hughes is back [from the illness which ruled him out against Bournemouth]" ungkap Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
Evann Guessand masih belum bisa memperkuat tim karena proses rehabilitasi yang belum tuntas sepenuhnya. Glasner memilih untuk memprioritaskan kesehatan jangka panjang sang pemain daripada memaksanya tampil prematur.
"Evann trained today, but just partly. It’s too early, so he doesn’t make the squad tomorrow. We have to decide on a daily basis" tegas Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
Daftar pemain yang absen bertambah dengan tidak tersedianya Borna Sosa, Eddie Nketiah, dan Cheick Doucoure. Glasner mengonfirmasi bahwa Sosa masih dalam pemulihan setelah sebelumnya juga absen saat melawan Bournemouth.
"Borna Sosa is still out – he wasn’t available for Bournemouth and is also still out – and of course Eddie Nketiah and Cheick Doucouré [are unavailable]" papar Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
Glasner menjelaskan proses pemulihan Guessand yang saat ini sudah memasuki tahap akhir integrasi dengan tim. Latihan individu masih dilakukan di bawah pengawasan ketat tim medis sebelum sang pemain benar-benar siap bertanding kembali.
"All other players are fit and available" sebut Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
Dalam sesi yang sama, Glasner memaparkan pentingnya sesi latihan tim bagi proses penyembuhan cedera Guessand. Kesejahteraan pemain tetap menjadi prioritas utama tim medis di tengah jadwal pertandingan yang sangat padat.
"It’s now the last part of his rehab: getting integrated into team training" tambah Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
Manajer tersebut menjelaskan bahwa latihan berkelompok memberikan stimulus yang berbeda dibandingkan dengan latihan mandiri. Hal ini diperlukan untuk memastikan pemain benar-benar siap menghadapi intensitas pertandingan yang tinggi.
"We don’t have lots of training [between matches]. That's why we really use every session we have. It's different if you train individually, but he's still doing it with the rehab coach individually" lanjut Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
Faktor keamanan fisik pemain menjadi poin krusial yang tidak ingin dilanggar oleh manajemen teknis klub. Glasner menekankan bahwa dirinya tidak akan mengambil risiko yang bisa memperburuk kondisi cedera para pemainnya.
"When you're part of team training, this is what he needs now, but like always, a player’s welfare is most important" tutur Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
Mengenai jalannya pertandingan, Glasner menilai laga leg kedua tetap akan berjalan sulit meski timnya unggul dua gol. Ia mengapresiasi kualitas individu yang dimiliki oleh para pemain Shakhtar Donetsk.
"I think nobody believes [the tie is done]" ujar Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
The Eagles berencana untuk tidak mengubah gaya permainan mereka secara drastis saat bermain di hadapan pendukung sendiri. Atmosfer Selhurst Park diharapkan mampu memberikan tekanan tambahan bagi tim tamu.
"We could see how good Shakhtar are as a team, and also their players, quick players, good dribblers, and we will need another great performance" ungkap Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
Glasner meyakini dukungan penonton akan lebih luar biasa dibandingkan saat mereka menghadapi Fiorentina di babak sebelumnya. Keyakinan tersebut didasari pada ambisi klub untuk mengukir sejarah di kompetisi Eropa.
"But of course we play the game tomorrow with a lot of confidence at Selhurst. We know we will have fantastic support from our fans. We could feel it against Fiorentina at home, and I think and believe it will be a bit more electric tomorrow, and that’s what we need" kata Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
Klub berjuluk The Eagles ini berkomitmen untuk menampilkan performa terbaik tanpa melakukan banyak eksperimen taktik. Fokus utama adalah mempertahankan level permainan yang konsisten sepanjang sembilan puluh menit.
"Then, it’s playing our game and giving our best. We know what we need to do, we don’t need to change a lot. We don’t need to find something that we didn’t find right now, it’s just really playing at our best level – and this is what we will try tomorrow" tutup Glasner, Manajer Crystal Palace.
Dari sisi lawan, penyerang Shakhtar Donetsk, Kaua Elias, menyatakan keyakinan penuh akan kemampuan timnya melakukan aksi balas dendam. Ia menegaskan bahwa seluruh anggota skuad percaya pada arahan taktis pelatih Arda Turan.
"We understand how important this game is, and we have been really looking forward to it. First of all, we believe in victory not only in tomorrow’s match but in the semi-final as a whole. We know how strong our opponents are and how difficult it will be to play against them. But the most important thing is that we believe in all the options we have, we believe in our head coach and in our chances to achieve this comeback and play a great match in line with our style of football" terang Kaua Elias, Penyerang Shakhtar Donetsk.
Shakhtar telah melakukan analisis mendalam mengenai gaya permainan klub Liga Inggris tersebut. Elias mengakui bahwa kualitas Liga Premier memberikan tantangan yang berbeda bagi perkembangan karier para pemain di Ukraina.
"First of all, I was very surprised in a positive way because these are the types of games we are not yet fully accustomed to. Of course, there is no need to remind anyone that our opponents play in the Premier League – the strongest league in the world. As for our preparation, we try to improve our individual and team actions, study the opponents’ style of play and analyse their strengths and weaknesses. We will also try, so to speak, to neutralise their advantages in some way and come out as winners" urai Kaua Elias, Penyerang Shakhtar Donetsk.
Penyerang asal Brasil tersebut juga menepis rumor mengenai potensi transfer dirinya ke klub lain demi fokus sepenuhnya pada sisa musim. Elias berambisi membantu tim meraih gelar juara di kompetisi domestik sekaligus melangkah ke final Eropa.
"First of all, I only dream of finishing this season well. That means we still believe we can reach the Conference League final, and we are also very close to achieving our goal of winning the UPL. Things related to my potential transfer to another club, I will keep, so to speak, under wraps. Right now I’m fully focused on playing for Shakhtar and want to score as many goals as possible this season and help my teammates score as many as possible. The most important thing for me is not to let anything distract me from football. Arda Turan is an incredible young coach, and despite that, he already has huge experience as a player – it is even hard to explain, and he has already helped us learn many things this season. I hope to learn even more from him" tutur Kaua Elias, Penyerang Shakhtar Donetsk.
Elias menyadari tantangan berat yang menanti di markas Palace, namun ia menolak menganggap kemenangan di London adalah hal yang mustahil. Tim pelatih telah menyiapkan strategi khusus untuk membongkar pertahanan tuan rumah.
"I believe playing against a Premier League club is always an extremely difficult task. But it is very important to emphasise that it is not an impossible one. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you exactly how we will approach the opponents, but I believe Arda Turan and his coaching staff have already prepared a way to win tomorrow. It is also important to stress that Arda Turan makes us understand how important it is to represent Shakhtar at this level. All of us – the Ukrainians and Brazilians at Shakhtar – have a difficult task, but as I said before, it is not an impossible one. So reaching the final and potentially winning it would be the greatest gift for Ukrainians" tegas Kaua Elias, Penyerang Shakhtar Donetsk.
Ia juga memuji kualitas bek Crystal Palace, Jaydee Canvot, yang dianggapnya memberikan pelajaran berharga dalam karier profesionalnya. Elias bertekad memperbaiki kesalahan pada pertemuan pertama, terutama terkait ruang gerak yang diberikan kepada lawan.
"Playing against such strong opponents is an incredible opportunity to grow as a footballer. I always want to have the chance to face centre-backs of different styles, as it also helps me develop. About Jaydee Canvot, I can say that he is an amazing player and opponent. It was difficult for me to face him in the first leg. It was an incredible experience that I will always remember. Regarding the game, there are many things we need to change compared to the first match. For example, we left too much space for the opponents, which we should not have done. Of course, we will work on all of this, analyse it, learn from our mistakes and come into this match fully prepared" kata Kaua Elias, Penyerang Shakhtar Donetsk.
Sebelum terbang ke London, Elias mengaku telah berkomunikasi dengan rekan-rekannya yang sudah lebih dulu berkarier di Liga Inggris. Informasi tersebut digunakan untuk mempersiapkan mental dan strategi demi mencapai target utama klub musim ini.
"Yes, of course, we spoke, but not about this. We talked about everything except the opponents. I have other friends who play in the Premier League who can give me some advice. They gave me, I would say, very good guidance, which we will try to implement. It is no secret that our rivals are a top team, and we need to give our absolute best to achieve our main goal" pungkas Kaua Elias, Penyerang Shakhtar Donetsk.
