With Strand Larsen coming on in Krakow with a quarter of the first leg remaining, and Palace leading 2-1 at that point – albeit under pressure – it was the Norway forward who provided the game’s standout goal – a moment of real composure – in the closing minutes.
With Shakhtar piling bodies forwards, Daichi Kamada broke with the ball and – weighing up whether to play in Brennan Johnson to his right, or Strand Larsen to his left – timed his ball to the latter to perfection.
The striker feigned to shoot, chopped inside a defender – and then lifted a delightfully delicate finish over the advancing keeper for his first-ever goal in European competition, with the two-goal cushion giving the Eagles a healthy degree of comfort heading back to South London.
