Adam Wharton was full of praise for Ismaila Sarr after the Senegalese winger fired Crystal Palace through to the Europa Conference League quarter-finals. Oliver Glasner’s men eventually got the job done, but they had to work for it.
Sarr gave Palace the lead in the 13th minute when he rounded Serbian goalkeeper Zlatan Alomerović and tucked the ball away. It gave the Eagles a much-needed early lead, becoming just the second team to score against the Cypriot outfit in Europe this season.
Larnaca found an equaliser in the 63rd minute through Enric Saborit, who climbed highest to head past Walter Benitez. Saborit went from hero to villain 10 minutes later when he was sent off after preventing a counter-attack.
The tie required extra time, and more drama unfolded at AEK Arena when Sarr was again on target in the 99th minute. An instinctive finish saw him meet Daichi Kamada’s low-driven cross. The hosts’ frustrations got the better of them, and they ended the match with nine men following Petros Ioannou’s 104th-minute sending off.
Wharton waxes lyrical about Sarr
Wharton was impressive yet again in the middle of the park, helping Crystal Palace control proceedings. The young English midfielder is playing his first European campaign and is now looking forward to a meeting with Fiorentina in the quarter-finals.
The 22-year-old acknowledged how difficult the tie against Larnaca was for Glasner’s side. He highlighted differences between Premier League and Conference League opposition, telling TNT Sports:
“Yeah we’re really pleased. Obviously it was a different game to the Premier League, tough to break down. Most important thing was getting to the next round.”
Wharton gave a glowing verdict of Sarr who is the Eagles’ man of the moment:
“Yeah, he’s been top, he’s been doing well in the Premier League as well, scoring loads of goals and getting assists. He’s so quick… it works wonders having him, we’re very lucky to have him.”
Sarr, who James Tomkins also raved about last week, took his tally for the season to 16 goals in 32 games across competitions. That includes five in eight Conference League outings. He has proven to be an excellent signing since arriving from Marseille back in August 2024 for £12.6m.
Crystal Palace meet Fiorentina
The draw for the knockout stages already determined Palace’s potential route to Conference League glory. They knew that a win over Larnaca meant a quarter-final against Polish outfit Rakow or Serie A side Fiorentina.
The Eagles will be flying to Italy after La Viola also won 2-1 tonight (4-2 on aggregate). Their squad includes several familiar faces, including former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea.
Glasner can expect a different game tie to the one that occurred against Larnaca. The Italians aren’t as pragmatic and the South Londoners might be more confident under those circumstances.
