Crystal Palace 3-0 Fiorentina: Mateta leads dominant quarter-final

Jean-Philippe Mateta inspired Crystal Palace to an impressive 3-0 victory over Fiorentina in the Conference League quarter-final on Thursday.

Mateta made his first start since a proposed move to AC Milan fell through in January, opening the scoring from the penalty spot in the 24th minute after Evann Guessand was fouled by Dodo.

Mateta was involved again in Palace’s second seven minutes later, with his close-range effort forcing a save from David de Gea before Tyrick Mitchell converted the rebound.

“I will continue to work hard and I am always here to fight for victory,” Mateta told TNT Sports. «Today we did it, but it is not finished yet. We have one more match in Italy.»

Fiorentina responded after the break, with Giovanni Fabbian hitting the woodwork and Dean Henderson producing two sharp saves to preserve Palace’s lead.

Ismaila Sarr got the result in stoppage time to give Palace a healthy lead heading into the second leg in Tuscany.

Elsewhere, Shakhtar Donetsk defeated AZ Alkmaar 3-0, with late goals from Pedrinho and a brace from Alisson Santana.

Rayo Vallecano moved closer to a historic semi-final with a 3-0 win over AEK Athens, while Mainz defeated Strasbourg 2-0 and maintained its perfect home record in the competition.

Published on April 10, 2026