- Crystal Palace beat Shakhtar Donetsk
- Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada “unreal”
- Eagles 3-1 up on aggregate
Crystal Palace fans have hailed Adam Wharton’s “class” and Daichi Kamada’s man-of-the-match performance in a 3-1 win against Shakhtar Donetsk. The Eagles took one massive step towards a final in Leipzig.
Ismaila Sarr opened the scoring with the earliest goal in UEFA Conference League history. The Senegalese winger struck in the 21st second, putting the finishing touches to a superb attacking move.
Shakhtar responded early in the second half through Oleh Ocheretko. Oliver Glasner’s men failed to clear their lines and the Ukrainians pounced to equalise.
Palace retook the lead when Daichi Kamada fired home a loose ball in the box. The Japanese midfielder gave Dmytro Riznyk no chance with his left-footed effort.
The visitors then added a third when they countered late on, and Jorgen Strand Larsen, on from the bench, found the back of the net. A brilliant victory for Glasner’s troops who are marching towards their first-ever European final.
‘Unreal’ – Fans Praise Kamada and Wharton
Palace’s win was largely thanks to incredible performances from Wharton and Kamada. They were brilliant in the middle of the park, helping in transition and putting in a shift defensively.
Kamada scored and assisted on the night and it’s tough to take for fans knowing that he’ll be leaving this summer. Wharton was equally as important, surprising a fair few viewers with a show of pace.
One fan gave a glowing verdict of Wharton on X:
“Adam Wharton is unreal. What a player to watch. F**k your stat padders.”
Another added:
“Wharton been unreal.”
One supporter alluded to Wharton nearly scoring:
“If Wharton scored that trivela I don’t think I would ever talk about anything else for the rest of my life.”
Another fan hit out at doubts over the Englishman’s overall game:
“This whole wharton isn’t well rounded is so bull***.”
Another added:
“(Wharton is) ferocious just not very mobile but still has an engine. I can get over that.”
One wrote:
“Adam Wharton is a class player always plays one touch effortlessly.”
Kamada too was hailed and many felt he was the best player on the pitch. That was the opinion of one fan who wrote:
“Kamada MOTM Wharton not far behind fairs this has been phenomenal Glasnerball.”
Another added:
“Kamada motm. Been unreal today.”
One wrote:
“Kamada sensational. Get him signed!!!!”
Another echoed this:
“Kamada stellar performance.”
Palace still need to get the job done when they face Shakhtar in the second leg at Selhurst Park next Thursday (May 7th). But the South Londoners can nearly start to book their flight to Leipzig and they will have Wharton and Kamada largely to thank.
