Canvot: We play football to be involved in this type of game
Jaydee Canvot knows the scale of tonight’s match at Selhurst Park – and has reiterated that his Crystal Palace teammates do, as well.
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The Eagles’ first-ever European campaign reaches a head tonight, with Palace looking to see off the challenge of Shakhtar Donetsk at Selhurst Park and reach the UEFA Conference League Final.
With Canvot and his teammates going into the second leg with a 3-1 lead won in Krakow last week, the 19-year-old insists the squad have not once considered the tie to already be settled – stating how dangerous Shakhtar were as an opponent in the first leg.
Canvot told his pre-match press conference: “No, never [have we thought about being through]. We play football to play this type of game.
“We know it's a big game for all the players, and for the club too – so we’re just staying focused. We have to win.
“It’s the first European trophy we could win, so we are excited, but we have to stay focused. We play against a good, good team with good players, so we just have to stay focused and do the job.
“Now, it's just the game against Shakhtar. Every player wants to play this type of game. And after, we're going to think about the next game.”
We are competitive players – we don't think about the game before
—Jaydee Canvot
Reflecting on the first leg, which saw Canvot put in another impressive display on the left side of the back three, the teenager was quick to put the events behind him.
“We won 3-1, but that was the first game – now it's half-time,” Canvot stated.
“We have a new game and we’ll to win it. If we can win 1-0 it’s good, if we can win 2-0 it’s good, but [whatever the score] we go to win. We are competitive players – we don't think about the game before.
“Now, it's a new game. We play against a big team. They play a lot in Champions League and in the Europa League, so we just have to stay focused and just win.”
At the culmination of his debut season in South London, having won widespread plaudits since his summer switch from Toulouse, Canvot has started all of Palace’s last 15 matches, slotting in seamlessly into the backline after the winter departure of Marc Guéhi.
“I spoke a lot with Marc,” Canvot revealed. “I learned a lot, because he was like a big brother for me.
“He told me a lot how he plays, how he thinks, because I think the best thing about a player is his mind, so I talked a lot with Marc, and he help me a lot.
“I just stayed confident, and when the gaffer gives me my chance, I just take it.”
Reflecting on the initial errors he made early in the season while adapting to the rigours of English football’s top division, Canvot admitted: “It’s natural. When you do something bad, or if you do everything good, you just say: ‘I have to keep working.’
Stay focused, stay humble, don’t think ‘I do everything bad, or everything good’ – just stay focused on the future. You can't do anything with the past, so keep working, listen when the gaffer speaks to me, or when the staff speak to me – listen to everybody – and just learn, because I'm a young player, I have to learn a lot.
“We are just like a family. Every day, when I wake up, when I go to training, I don't come to the training and just think about football, I come to be with my friends and play football.
“Before the game, we think about performances, and being competitive, but we just have a big, big family, where everybody loves everybody.”
Canvot also recognised how exciting the atmosphere he is expecting tonight at Selhurst Park to be, adding: “It’s special for the fans.
“Maybe it is one of the best, or one of the most important, games, in the history of Crystal Palace.”
Match Details
Crystal Palace v Shakhtar Donetsk
- Thursday, 7th May
- 20:00 BST
- UEFA Conference League semi-final, second leg
- Selhurst Park
- Live audio commentary on Palace TV+